Wholehearted for the Long Haul

Review

We need to remember to seek/inquire of God for all of our decisions in all we do; allowing God to lead us by His Spirit - we follow Him

We need t

Intro:

Frank Buckles

Attended many funerals in his time; everywhere he looked faces seemed so young

No one was left in his age bracket

What did people think when they looked at him? There’s the old guy?

In 2008, at age 107, he was the last remaining American who served in WWI

Fibbed about his age to serve in the Army - first assignment was to be an ambulance driver in France

Last assignment was to escort POWS home after the Armistice was signed

Received the French Legion of Honor award in 2004

In 2008, he was still residing on his farm in West Virginia

Lived a full life and still going strong in older age

Much like a character who was journeying alongside Joshua to the Promised Land - Caleb

Like many older people; Caleb probably told stories of his experiences - 10 plagues, Red Sea, Mt Sinai

ike many older people; Caleb probably told stories of his experiences - 10 plagues, Red Sea, Mt Sinai

Caleb made a name for himself early on by standing firm in the minority.

name for himself early on by standing firm in the minority.

One of the 12 spies Moses selected to spy out the land of Caanan and bring back a report

All of the others, except for Caleb and Joshua, told Moses why the couldn’t shouldn’t wouldn’t go posses the land.

But Caleb silenced the crowd

Numbers 13:30 ESV

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Numbers 13:30

Only Joshua stood with Caleb that day; and they lost the debate.

But God didn’t forget Caleb’s boldness that day.

He told Moses Caleb would get the land his feet touched

Deuteronomy 1:36 ESV

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!’

God was pleased with Caleb’s wholeheartedness. In fact the word wholeheartedly is seen 5 times in relation to Caleb

Numbers 14:24 ESV

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Numbers

Numbers 32:12 ESV

none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

Joshua 14:8 ESV

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

Joshua 14:14 ESV

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.

Joshua 14:14

There was nothing lukewarm about Caleb.

There was no wavering or compromise with Caleb.

Do you think this spirit is prevalent in our culture today?

Why or why not?

How can churchgoers be lukewarm? What happens when they read something in Bible they don’t like?

Caleb would have no tolerance for this

Unfinished Business

Caleb never forgot the goal/assignment God had given the Israelites -claiming the Promised Land

Even going through the desert for decades - even though he and Joshua had done nothing wrong but put their trust in God - he remembered the unfinished business

What are some of the things Caleb witnessed traveling through the wilderness?

He was there the day the nation entered Caanan; he saw the walls of Jericho fall; he helped fight other battles

BUT Caleb remembered the unfinished business

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.

Joshua 14:

Then after all the waiting

Joshua 14:10–12 ESV

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. 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. 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.”

Joshua 14:

Caleb had tenacity, he wasn’t willing to quit.

He didn’t allow his age, his surroundings, challenges - the Anakites were Caanan’s most towering/fiercest warriors - to keep him from possessing EVERYTHING God had promised.

Compare Caleb to the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant.

Compare Caleb to the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant.

Matthew 8:5–10 ESV

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Matthew 8:10 ESV

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Matthew 8:5–10 ESV

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Do you think its hard to find people like Caleb and the centurion who will take God at His word without a hint of reservation?

Do you believe its God’s desire for us all?

God wants us to say with Caleb, “My life will be shaped by God’s promise and plan, not by my own opinions or rationalizations. What God says, I will believe. Now lets get on with it.”

There was no stopping Caleb and his friend Joshua knew it

Joshua 14:13–15 ESV

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.

Joshua 14:

He was given the land because he followed God wholeheartedly

Interesting fact about Hebron:

Highest altitude in Canaan - sitting at 3,040 feet above sea level; making it higher even than Jerusalem

This meant the fighting would be tougher - the hills were infested with Anakites

Caleb was ready to push against all difficulties/challenges to gain the blessings God had for him.

Are you?

What are some subtle comments/influences from those nearby that may try to weaken the resolve in following Christ

Willing to Wait

Willing to Wait

Caleb had to have the right mental attitude to maintain his resolve.

He never gave up, or grew cynical or bitter, - at least we don’t see that he did in Scripture - but he kept the promise of God always in view.

He walked alongside those who had no faith yet his spirit did not grow bitter or harsh.

He suffered along with the other Israelites in the wilderness for something that wasn’t his fault.

When we see this in Scripture it puts a huge hole/dent in the name it claim it theology.

Scripture does not say Caleb suffered because he didn’t have enough faith - using my husband’s words that is man made garbage.

Sometimes in life we get penalized along with the majority!

Remember the words of the Psalmist

Psalm 130:5–6 ESV

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Psalm 130:e5-6

And the words of the prophet Isaiah

Isaiah 30:18 ESV

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30

Caleb had a different attitude than the majority around him and God blessed him accordingly

Numbers 14:24 ESV

24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Determined yet Dependent

Conclusion