Revision as of 13:58, 22 April 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus:

Homiletical Proposition/Application:

Introduction:

Last week we looked at Real Faith and I stated that faith results in faithfulness. That is, if we as a church develop people who have Real Faith, we will be a church filled with faithful people. This week I want to explore promise. What I want you to see is that if we as a church have faith plus the promises of God then we will be a church filled with confidence.

Image: Riding backward on your bike.

About 10 years ago my younger brother and I were asked by a family friend if we would help him clear some dead trees up at his Cabin in the Rockies. Earl was 84 years old and had a beautiful cabin but the Pine Beatles that were ravaging the Rockies at the time had done a number on his property. My brother and I loaded up the chain saws and headed into the mountains. When we arrived at the cabin Earl had marked dozens of trees to come down and so we fired up the saws and started working. To our dismay, 84-year-old Earl also fired up his saw and even though walking up in the mountains was a notable challenge he got himself ready to start dropping some large pines. My brother and I immediately realized that half of our job was to keep Earl busy close to the cabin out of the way of falling trees. Out of the way of danger.

Ten years later I still remember it like it was yesterday, maybe partly because we ended up dropping a tree on some wasps and I was stung, but mostly because Earl is one of my heroes. Earl didn't let his age stop him from getting to work. You see this go get them attitude was not just in cutting down trees, Earl's attitude stemmed from a confidence that whatever he tried to do, God would be with him. Even today, when I travel home and get to see Earl I am greeted by a man who is confidently waiting for what God has next.

I tell the story of Earl because that day in the mountains was a lot of fun but I want you to also look around here today. There are a great many of you here today who have lived a lifetime of God's promises and it shows. To the rest of us I say look around, look for those faithful who you can follow. Look for those who are confidently stepping out in God's promises and emulate them.

Need: We need to confidently declare "I've read the end and know that God wins!"

Subject: Confidence in God.

Preview: In Joshua 14:6-15 we will look at God's promises the foundation of our confidence, the source of our passion, and our hope for tomorrow.

Setting the Stage:

I told you one of my many stories about Earl but there are also numerous stories of faithful people in the Bible. Today we will look at one such individual and in order to do so I need to spend some time setting the stage.

After wandering in the desert for 40 years the time finally came for Israel to inherit the land originally promised to the Patriarchs. The book of Joshua is the official account of the conquest of this land. We are going to spend a significant amount of time in Joshua this summer but for Today I want to take you to chapter 14. Chapter 14 begins by recalling that two and a half of the twelve tribes of Israel were going to receive land East of the Jordan river. The remaining tribes would receive land West of the Jordan.

However, before the specific details of land allotment for the nine and a half tribes East of the Jordan could be completed, an important issue needed to be dealt with. The issue was the promised inheritance of Caleb.

Recall the story more than 45 years earlier in

Numbers 13 - 45 years earlier

Upon arriving at the border of the promised land, Moses assigned 12 spies to go into the land and spy out the land. One individual from each tribe was chosen among whom were Joshua and Caleb. After traveling throughout the land, the spies returned and reported that the land was good but also the people in the land were great and powerful. Joshua and Caleb confidently told the people that they could conquer the people in the land and should proceed immediately. The remaining ten spies countered and suggested that the people of Canaan would overpower and devour Israel. Israel rebelled and refused to enter the land. The result was that God stated that none of the people who failed to trust his promise would be allowed to enter the land. Only Caleb and Joshua would see the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.

In

Deuteronomy 1:36

we learn that Caleb was promised not just to see the land but that he would inherit the parts of the land that he had spied out.

Now 45 years later, the time has come for Caleb to receive his promise.

Body

Let's begin by reading Joshua 14:6-9

6 Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’ ^[1]

In this passage I want you to see that

God's promises are the foundation of our confidence (v. 6-9).

The first key element of God's promises being our foundation is that did not change Caleb's confidence in what God had promised in

Deuteronomy 1:36

Caleb knew God's promises.

Remember that 45 years had elapsed but

Caleb's confidence was an is in God

The LORD my God

Image: My favorite question is "why?"

MTR: We need to know the Bible to know the promises of God.

God's promises are the source of our passion (v. 10-12).

Caleb watched and waited

Caleb's vigour remained

Caleb's faith grew

Image:

MTR: Re/Ignite your passion for God's work

God's promises are our hope for tomorrow (v. 13-15).

God fulfilled his promise

God's servant was honored

The name Hebron mans "place of joining." The point is probably that what had previously been known as the city of a giant among giants was now distinctly in the possession of Israel largly because of one man's faith.

Image:

MTR: Place your hope in God

Conclusion:

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1. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 14:6–9.