Follower or Fan

Background to passage: the first chapter of the second half of the book where most of the land has been taken, and now will be allotted to specific tribes. Much of the next several chapters is delineating the specific boundaries for each tribe. There are some instances that stand apart such as the account of Caleb’s request today. To understand some the the context, you much know that Caleb was part of the 12 spies sent out into Canaan, and one of only two that agreed with God that the nation of Israel would prevail.

Joshua 14:6–15 ESV

6 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. 7 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. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he 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 to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.

Opening illustration: One of the scariest text in scripture, “An Enthusiastic Admirer” Not a Fan, p. 24-25, 35

Main thought: Caleb “wholly followed” the Lord, his God in three ways.

1) No Disobedience (v. 7-9)

Joshua 14:7–9 (ESV)

7 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.

8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’

1) No Disobedience (v. 7-9)

Explanation: Three times in this passage Caleb gives the basis for the reason his request should be granted: he wholly followed the Lord. In the context of this passage, this means two things. First, it means that he acted in faith in Num 13, when he went out with the spies. He came back prepared to walk in obedience and take the land as God had said. Secondly, he walked in obedience throughout the forty years in the wilderness. Caleb was a man who was committed to walking in obedience to God’s commands.

Deuteronomy 1:36 ESV

36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’

2 Kings 23:2–3 ESV

2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

Psalm 37:18 ESV

18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;

Psalm 119:69 ESV

69 The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

Luke 6:46 ESV

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Illustration: More served as a close advisor to King Henry VIII. He was known for his unwavering principles and loyalty to the king. However, when Henry VIII demanded that his subjects acknowledge him as the Supreme Head of the Church of England, More could not, in good conscience, comply. Despite his previous service and adherence to the king’s commands, this act of defiance ultimately led to his execution.

Application: Obedience seems a simple concept. Wholly following the Lord. However, we all know that it is not. And as testified in scripture, mere rule following, to achieve goodness, is not pleasing to God, nor a route to heaven. Please don’t fall into the religious trap of thinking that you can do enough good to offset the bad. Biblical obedience is when we desire to be obedient. Jesus said to make disciples by teaching them to keep the command he gave, which is more than just telling them what they are with a list. Even Pharisees did that. Do you desire to keep the commands of Christ? Do you desire it because you love Christ? Avail yourself to divine and human aid in your pursuit of Christ and long-term obedience.

2) No Retirement (v. 10-11)

Joshua 14:10–11 ESV

10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.

2) No Retirement (v. 10-11)

Explanation: Notice how Caleb notes his age and his strength. He doesn’t let age slow him down, nor get in his way. He notes that he is just as strong now as he was at Kadesh-Barnea at 40 years old. This is an incredible asset to him and to Israel.

Argumentation:

Illustration: I know that not everybody in this crowd wants their life to make a difference. There are hundreds of you — you don’t care whether you make a lasting difference for something great, you just want people to like you. If people would just like you, you’d be satisfied. Or if you could just have a good job with a good wife and a couple good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, a fun retirement, and quick and easy death and no hell — if you could have that, you’d be satisfied even without God.

That is a tragedy in the making.

Three weeks ago, we got word at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards had both been killed in Cameroon. Ruby was over eighty. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing eighty years old, and serving at Ruby’s side in Cameroon.

The brakes give way, over the cliff they go, and they’re gone — killed instantly.

And I asked my people: was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great vision, spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ — two decades after almost all their American counterparts have retired to throw their lives away on trifles in Florida or New Mexico. No. That is not a tragedy. That is a glory.

I tell you what a tragedy is. I’ll read to you from Reader’s Digest what a tragedy is. “Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Fla., where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.”

That’s a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. And I get forty minutes to plead with you: don’t buy it. With all my heart I plead with you: don’t buy that dream. The American Dream: a nice house, a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting shells as the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account of what you did: “Here it is Lord — my shell collection! And I’ve got a nice swing, and look at my boat!”

Don’t waste your life; don’t waste it.

Application: In America, and much of the developed world, we have this thing called “retirement.” It’s the idea that you have worked as long as you need to not work any more (or at least to do something less tedious, different, and with greater freedom). This could be a good thing or a bad thing. It could cause us to coast through the church life believing that we have done our time. It could cause us to watch as others minister or the church lacks for people to serve. Never in scripture do we see retirement, except in the lives of the Levites. You never reach a point where you have “served your time,” and someone else needs to take your place so you can not serve for a while.

Retirement, however, could free up time to serve Christ more. It can free you up in ways to serve in ministry. It can give you time to be bold in your witness. It can give you time to minister Christ to this lost country who sets their confidence or at least preoccupation on politics, sex, and money, or the nations of the world. Retirement can be a gift. There are many of you here who are retired, what are you doing with it? Non-profits, new ministries, old ministries, work hard all the way to the end! Some of you will retire in the future; start making plans now. Start cultivating your heart to seek the heart of God instead of the American Dream. How do I do that? You renew your mind with the Word. You ask God for new desires and hunger for him. You gather with other believers and learn from them and encourage them. One hour a week with the body of Christ will not be sufficient for you to be transformed. We must do life together. We need each other to grow, to be strong, to align our priorities with God’s.

3) No Retreat (v. 12)

Joshua 14:12 ESV

12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

3) No Retreat (v. 12)

Explanation: I love this. Caleb still has vision, faith in God, a commitment to obedience now. He wants to finish the job. He wants to possess the land. He wants his descendants to bring about glory to the God of Israel for generations. He wanted advance of the Kingdom of God. He wanted to do it “just as the Lord said.”

Argumentation:

Illustration: Mike coming back from Maine and realizing what a spiritual dark, and forsaken place it is.

Application: Is it your desire that the Kingdom of God advance through you? Is it your desire that God would use you as an instrument in this world to make a different in people’s lives? We must have that mentality. God desires to use you. His means by which He accomplishes his reign on the earth is efforts of men and women and children. There is not one of you that God has not placed in a spot that needs ministry, that needs you to love people, that need you to share the gospel, that need you to do more than pick up seashells.

One of the main things that we are doing in Refocus is planning for how God would use our church for the advancement of his kingdom, the furtherance of Christ’s reign on the earth. This is for our future. You also have a future. You have generations of family that will come after you. The faith must be passed on for multi-generational faithfulness that will affect people’s eternities.

What do you see? What do you want for your family and for your church? Stagnation, complacency, and apathy are unacceptable and will doom your family, our city, our country and the nations because we are navel-gazing and can’t see or don’t care about lostness.

Closing illustration:

In the early days of Christianity, followers faced extreme persecution. One notable figure was Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle. At 86 years old, he refused to renounce his faith, even when offered a way out. As flames engulfed him, he boldly proclaimed, 'You threaten me with fire that burns for an hour and is over. But you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment.' His steadfastness reminds us that being a follower of Christ may involve great sacrifices, but it is a path of eternal significance.

Recap