Introduction:
1. A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, the girl’s mother asked her husband to find out about the young man. The father invited him to his study for a talk. "So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I’m a biblical scholar," he replied. "A Biblical scholar. Hmmm," the father said. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide for my daughter?" "I will study, and God will provide for us, the boy replied. "And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, like she’s going to want, asked the father. "I will concentrate on my studies and God will provide for us," the young man replied. What about later when you and my daughter have children, how will you provide for them?" "Don’t worry, sir, God will provide," replied the fiancé. Each time the father asked a question, the young idealist insisted God would provide. Later, the mother asked, "How did it go, Honey?" "Well," the father answered, "I believe we have a problem, he has no job, no plans, and he thinks I’m God!" 10
2. The young man obviously didn’t understand that while it’s proper to rely upon God, that doesn’t mean God is going to do everything for us. There is a part of God’s work that He expects us to do.
3. I hope you have understood that in this series of sermons from the book of Joshua, "Possibilities: the dream of what lies ahead." We are to depend upon God, but depending on God doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible to fulfill our God given responsibilities. How can we balance that out and what are the results when we do?
4. I believe this section of Joshua illustrates that for us in a very practical way. Our text this morning is taken from Joshua 14 and 15. You can follow along in your Bible, or on the screen.
Cell #1—
Joshua 14:6 - 15, 15:13-19 (NASB)
6 Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word which the LORD spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea.
7 "I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart.
8 "Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully.
9 "So Moses swore on that day, saying, ’Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully.’
10 "Now behold, the LORD has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am 85 years old today.
11 "I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in.
12 "Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken."
13 So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.
14 Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully.
15 Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.
15:13 Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of the LORD to Joshua, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron).
14 Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak.
15 Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher.
16 And Caleb said, "The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife."
17 Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife.
18 It came about that when she came to him, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"
19 Then she said, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Prayer
Cell #2—
I. Focusing on God’s Promises Joshua 14:6-15
1. All of us have a choice to make when it comes to God’s promises, we can focus on why we should keep them, or why we don’t want to keep them, either way we have a choice. Many years before God had promised Caleb that he would have a special inheritance in Canaan. Now it’s time for that promise to be fulfilled. Let’s go back into the life of Caleb for a moment for this lesson.
Cell #3—
Caleb could have used an excuse for not taking advantage of what God had promised--
1) He was already 85 years old.
2) He wasn’t actually a Jew. (He was a Kenizzite)
2. Have you ever made up an excuse for something you didn’t really want to do? Actually, don’t answer that because you don’t have to, every one of us have done that at one time or another. But the situation here is a little more complicated than that. Caleb had built in excuses if he wanted to use them. Eighty-five isn’t your typical time to begin a major venture and while he was considered a part of the nation, he wasn’t a descendant of Jacob.
3. When it comes right down to it, we all have some built in excuses. Be honest, can’t you nearly always find a decent sounding reason not to do something you don’t really want to do? I know, me to, but Caleb doesn’t fall into that trap and here’s why. He was focused on what he wanted, not what stood in the way of what he wanted.
4. From all the things we read about Caleb it appears he had always been that way. I want to show you the names of some other Jewish leaders of Caleb’s day to see if any of you will recognize any of them.
Cell #4—
Shammau, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Galdi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi and Geul
No one remembers these ten spies who said the land couldn’t be taken.
5. What was the difference between Caleb & the spies who didn’t think the promised land could be taken? What is the difference today between people who accomplish great things and those who don’t? I believe that question can be answered by this statement.
Cell #5—
The ten spies saw only the risk, they measured their chance to take the promised land against themselves. In sharp contrast, Caleb and Joshua focused on the opportunity, they measured the giants of the land against God.
6. The difference was that Caleb was focused on God and what he could do & the spies who caved in and suggested they return to Egypt were focused on only what they could do. There’s all the difference in the world between what we can do on our own & what God can do through us.
7. I want to show you just how extreme the challenge Caleb tackled was. It was going to take some pretty spectacular faith. Let me show you why I say that.
Cell #6— (parts 1 & 2 come in after the opening statement)
The land Caleb requested was special—
1) It was what frightened the other ten spies most.
2) It contained the grave of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob
8. How was it special? This was a piece of land where some of the strongest soldiers in Canaan were at. In fact, (Cell 6 #1) It was what frightened the other 10 spies most. That’s right, 40 years earlier when they had gone into the land, this section of the land & the soldiers who were there to defend it frightened the spies so badly that they returned with their negative report.
9. But this section of land was special for another reason. (Cell 6 #2) It contained the grave of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. That’s right, the founder of the Jewish nation was buried there along with his son Isaac & Isaac’s son Jacob. There very well could have been some Jews who thought someone who was born a Jew should have been given that most special part of the promised land. In that sense it was the most precious piece of real estate and it was being requested by a man who was probably a descendant of Esau, which means he wasn’t a full blooded Jew.
10. Those were both good reasons, but I want you to notice something. Caleb didn’t allow himself to fall prey to either one of them. Instead of focusing on why he couldn’t be blessed as God had said he would, he focused on why he could be. He could have settled for less than God had promised, but he didn’t. I was trying to think about how to communicate that in today’s terms & I came up with this little statement. It’s a little corny, but I think it may help you remember the principle I’m trying to drive home. this
Cell #7—
Far too many people settle for Mountain Dew, when what God has for them is a Mountain.
11. What’s the difference between Mountain Dew & a Mountain? A far better question would be what’s not the difference. The point is that we should never settle for mediocrity when God has called us to work for His kingdom which is eternal.
12. Ultimately, this wasn’t really about Caleb, it was about what God had promised to him. In fact there is a word used repeatedly in Joshua which shows that the focus was on how the land was a gift from God.
Cell #8—
The word "inheritance" emphasizes that the land was from God.
13. Think about it for a moment, an inheritance is a gift, given to you because of who you are, not what you do. No wonder Caleb’s focus was on God’s promise, that is precisely where God wanted it to be.
TS— If we were to stop here, this sermon would not be balanced, more is needed. Focusing on God’s promises is where we need to begin, but it’s not where we end. From focusing on God’s promises we need to begin. . .
Cell #9—
II. Acting on God’s Promises Joshua 15:13-15
1. Faith is a great thing, but true faith always involves more than merely believing something is true, it goes farther than that. It’s the same with love. Love is an emotion, but when you truly love someone you want to be involved in their life and you want the best for them. Love will reveal itself through actions. Faith reveals itself through actions as well. So, how does God respond when our faith is demonstrated in our actions?
Cell #10—
God blesses our faith by giving us greater opportunities.
2. When we respond in faith to what we know God wants us to do then He works in our lives in ways that would never happen if we weren’t acting on God’s promises. The truth of the matter is that. . .
Cell #11—
Remembering God’s promises is good, but acting on God’s promises is far better.
3. In the New Testament the book of James deals with this very issue. He says that real faith must demonstrate that it’s real with action. It’s not enough to say we believe in God, we must be willing to act on what we believe.
4. If you want to know the truth, faith & works cannot really be separated. If you don’t believe God can help you, you will never tackle anything bigger than you personally can handle with your own ability. You will base what you will attempt on yourself, not on God. Far too many churches and far too many Christians live just like that. They never focus on what they can do through God. They are never willing to step out in faith and try anything bigger than they are.
Cell #12—
Far too many people never try anything difficult. As a result they never accomplish anything of real significance.
5. How long has it been since you dared to dream of what God can do through you as you rely upon Him? How long has it been since you were willing to put actions with your faith and try something you know won’t work if He doesn’t help? We must do more than believe God’s promises, we must be willing to act on God’s promises. That requires some pretty significant faith and it requires facing some pretty impossible situations. I love what. . .
Cell #13—
Theodore Roosevelt said, "There has not yet been a person in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering."
6. I want my life to be worth remembering don’t you? Yes, I know you do. Which leads me to the third point in this morning’s message. It’s slightly different than the first two points. For a few minutes I want us to focus on. . .
Cell #14—
III. Consequences of God’s Promises Joshua 15:16-19
1. I know this may be a little bit confusing, but let me explain. What happens when we take the first two steps I’ve shared with you this morning? You might say that what happens is the consequences of God’s promises.
2. I want to set the stage here to some extent by looking back at verse 14 for a moment. One of the obvious consequences of trusting God & working toward God’s promises was that he drove out the strong soldiers who were already in the land.
3. However, I want you to see that there were some other things going on. Caleb does something which at first glance seems extremely strange. In fact, it seems downright wrong. He says that he’s going give his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man who will attack Kiriath-sepher and defeat it. This seems very strange. However, there are a couple things that we should remember.
1) In those days, parents did select a spouse for their children, so while it’s not the way we do things in our culture, it was very much what his daughter would have expected him to do.
2) On the surface it seems like an incredibly selfish thing to do. It almost seems as if he’s saying my daughter isn’t important enough for me to find a godly man for her, so whoever defeats Kiriath-sepher can have her. But, don’t be too quick to jump to that conclusion. Let me show you why I say that.
Cell #15—
An attack on Kiriath-sepher would require that a
man have faith like Caleb’s.
4. I want to show you something else that would be pretty easy to miss if you’re not looking carefully. I don’t get the feeling that his daughter didn’t like the arrangement. In fact, she persuaded her new husband to ask her father for a field, & she asked for a little more property in addition.
Cell #16—
Caleb’s daughter dared to go for what she wanted,
she was willing to ask for more.
5. Where do you suppose she got that trait of going for what she wanted? Do you suppose she may have picked up a little bit of that from her father? I think the answer is a strong, "Yes." She had observed her father stepping out in faith to work toward the things he thought were important over the years & now that she’s got the chance to do it, she responds the same way. She saw his faith & it affected the way she lived as well. Here’s the real point. . .
Cell #17—
Living by faith has a powerful influence on our children.
6. Please don’t hear me say that you can only influence your children if you’re perfect, if that were the case none of us would have a positive impact on them. What I am saying is that one of the consequences of living the kind of life I’m talking about here, is that when our children see us living our faith it affects them, not because we’re talking about faith but because we’re living it.
7. You may be about ready by now to give up because you’ve fallen far short of the mark when it comes to consistently living your faith in your daily life. There’s no time like the present to change that. God can take our commitment no matter when & do something special with it that will far exceed our expectations.
Cell #18—
George Eliot said, "It is never too late to be
what you might have become."
8. What do you want to become? Even more importantly, what do you think God wants you to become? It’s not too late to begin the process of becoming that person.
9. I want to talk to our graduates for a moment. You have just finished up high school or a degree. It seems like it’s the end, but in reality, it’s just the beginning of another chapter in your life. You have finished part of your schooling, but you aren’t finished becoming the person God wants you to be, we never are.
Conclusion:
1. The way this works out in each of our lives is going to be different. You may not be a boxing fan, but you’ve got to admire George Foreman, the former heavyweight boxing champion. A few years ago, at the age of 42, he came out of retirement for one last fight. Was it for the glory? Not according to Foreman. Was it for the fame? No again. Was it because of the Lord? As amazing as it may seem the answer is yes. You see he’s not a preacher who works with troubled young boys. He gets them off the streets and tells them about Jesus. Few boxing experts thought he would last more than 3 rounds against 28 years old Evander Holyfield. George Foreman didn’t win the fight, but he lasted all 12 rounds and he got paid for the fight which was what he wanted all along.
2. I don’t know what God’s got for you to do, it may be as strange as what He had for George Foreman, or it may be as expected as sharing your faith with your neighbor, but I do know He wants you to believe Him & then put your faith into action. Are you willing to do that this morning?
3. Perhaps this morning you don’t know Christ as your personal Savior, you can before you leave this building. During our invitation someone would be happy to explain to you how to invite Jesus into your heart.
4. Maybe the decision you need to make this morning is a totally different one. Perhaps you need to renew your commitment to God. The altar area is open for that as well. In fact, if you need to pray about anything in your life, you are welcome come to the front, someone will be happy to pray with you here.
1) John Hamby, Give Me That Mountain, (Sermoncentral.com) April, 2002.
2) Melvin Newland, How Big Are Your Dreams, (Sermoncentral.com) October, 1997.
3) Bob Briggs, Maximizing Your Potential, (Sermoncentral.com) June, 1998.
4) Howard McGlamery, Caleb’s Reward, (Sermoncentral.com) January, 1998.
5) Mike Turner, How to Reach Your Mountain, (Sermoncentral.com) June, 2003.
6) Dean Rhine, Conquest and Commitment, (Sermoncentral.com) March,
7) Dean Morgan, Grasshopper Mentality, (Sermoncentral.com)
8) Adolph L Harstad, The People’s Bible Commentary: Joshua, (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House) 1991.
