Johnathan's Celebration

Faith

For John:

Good evening! Thank you Pastor Nail for the opportunity to come tonight and be able to speak on behalf of my brother.

Most people don’t know this, and apparently, John didn’t either, but when I told him I was coming, he said, “Just know that we are Pentecostal, we don’t hold back.” I said Bro, I was called into ministry in an Assembly of God Church. That doesn’t scare me.

Like you probably now know, my name is Josh Caldwell.

I am the middle son of Tom and Joy Caldwell, and John is my younger brother.

I am currently serving as the NXTGEN Pastor in Conway, but very recently God has called me and my family to Odessa, Texas.

I’ve only lived out of South Carolina once in my life, so when I felt God calling us there, I was not happy.

God and I have this thing where I love telling God what I’m not going to do, and he loves making me do it.

It’s a lot like John and me.

Older brothers always make the younger brothers do everything.

But here’s my point tonight if I can…

Sometimes in our life, we are forced and required to have faith that we cannot explain.

Would you agree that real Faith almost brings us to a point where we become scared?

I will say, as a pastor, never give us a platform, because we will always preach.

So, if you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews chapter 11.

If you know anything about this chapter, you know that it teaches us about the great examples throughout Scripture who showed and lived out their faith.

In verse 1 we read,

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Through their faith, the people in the days of old earned a good reputation.

By faith, we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, and that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

Knowing John for his whole life, I can tell you that his faith has been something that at times, has been stronger than anyone I know.

The predominant view of the word faith in this entire chapter shows that we must have Trust in God and complete reliance on him.

I remember growing up together,

I was there when he did things that defied all the odds.

I saw his faith become real.

From doing flips and completely breaking his pacemaker.

To being a manager on the football team and lighting up other people's lives.

Or always having an encouraging word to say.

When you live a life with the complications and issues that John has had to live with, the only way to make it through that is to have complete reliance on a Savior to carry him through.

John grew up having a need for faith.

He lived his life having a need for trusting in a God who could go before him and lead him to where he has taken him. Here’s what I know,

When we have true faith in God, we are convinced that the faith we hope for becomes our realization.

When I started, I told you that God was calling my family and me to Texas.

You may have thought, why is that important Josh?

This isn’t about you, it’s about John.

Well first off, I’m the middle child, so it’s always about me (PAUSE)

secondly, I was scared.

I was scared when I heard where John was with his health.

So I stopped.

I wanted to change my entire plan.

I did not care what God wanted.

But that’s what we do.

When we completely forget our faith and our trust in God, we become a people who have no clear faith.

AND

When we become clueless and give up our faith, we become people that accept things as they are.

Not John.

The year he graduated high school, they gave him a piece of paper that said he finished 12 years of school.

He could accept that but he didn’t.

He went back the very next year to get an actual diploma.

One year we went to the Heart Walk in Charleston South Carolina.

He could have chosen not to show up and hold back, but he didn’t.

He showed up and made connections even at a young age.

He could’ve chosen to hide in his room,

but he connected with people with the same condition and became a part of groups and support groups.

Through this, I’ve seen people from Italy sharing posts that tell people to pray for him.

And he could’ve sat as a church member in this church,

but no, as a Christian, he understands the trust and faith he has in God, and he desires to serve and give back.

I tell you all of that because when John was put in Hospice,

the first thing he did was tell me not to change my mind about Texas. (PAUSE)

This is his life.

This is how he has always been.

We talked one time, and I asked him,

(I love to do these scenarios with everyone because I’m weird.)

I asked him, if you had one day left to live, what would you want to do?

I’m thinking go to Paris,

skydiving,

spending a bunch of money on something crazy…..

Not at all.

This is what John said…

GO….

TO….

CHURCH. (PAUSE)

So I am taking this time to challenge you to do a few things.

1. Be clear in your faith.

Are you like I was?

Ready to make your own decisions, and to make your own decisions because you want things to stay the way they are?

2. Get involved and Serve.

Have you been putting it off?

Do you want to serve but have been scared to?

Now’s a great time to get involved.

3. Realize your Faith!

I’m confident in mine.

Do you know why?

Because I have a little brother

who’s always shown me and been an example

to trust what God puts in front of you,

and never settle for ok being good enough.

Thank you.