Latest revision as of 19:58, 30 April 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is faithful to keep his promises even when doing so appears un-natural.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Those who follow Christ can confidently trust that God will keep his promises.

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: Lumberjacking at 84.

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 (don't read)- 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 (Don't read yet)

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 Caleb's confidence in what God had promised. In

Deuteronomy 1:36 (read it here)

God, through Moses, promised land for Caleb. Here in Joshua, we see that

Caleb knew God's promises.

Remember that 45 years had elapsed but that didn't deter Caleb. More than just the number of years I want you to note who Caleb was in verse 6. Joshua tells us that

Caleb was a Kenizzite.

The Kenizzites were mentioned in Genesis as a tribe in Canaan in the days of Abraham. That is, the Kenizzites were separate from the Israelites. However, it seems that at some point the Kenizzites, at least in part, joined with the tribe of Judah. This means that formally Caleb had the wrong blood, he was from the wrong tribe. Yet that did not deter him from trusting God's promises.

Whereas Caleb's fellow Israelites melted away in fear,

Caleb's confidence was resolutely in God

In particular, Caleb uses the phrase

The LORD my God

Caleb was worshipping God, but not just any god. Caleb was depending on the LORD who was His God. Caleb trusted the promises of God and they formed the foundation for his confidence.

Image: My favorite question is "why?"

Two and three year olds are well-known for asking the question "why?" I am not encouraging any of you to become obnoxious but I think that when considering confidence we should ask the question "why?" a lot more often. Why are you confident? On what are you depending? My students at UNL know that I am going to always ask them "why?" They know that my desire is not to tear down everything they know, but rather to make sure that what they know, they know for the right reasons.

Confidence without knowing why is not confidence, it might be arrogance or ignorance but it is not confidence.

As Christians, we should be confident but we need to know why we are confident and the answer to the question of why is we are confident in the promises of God. I guess what it comes down to is that

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

So my action step for you is to know your Bible. This means you need to read and study your Bible. How much time do you spend in your Bible? How much time do you spend in other media? Do you know your Bible as well as you know your favorite movie? Ouch, that one hurts me, don't even ask Emily how well I know Stargate SG-1. The point is that I think each of us could do a better job studying our Bible so that we can have confidence in God. If we know God's promises we will have a foundation for confidence.

Let's move onto Joshua 14:10-12

10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” ^[2]

What I want you to see is that God's promises are not just our foundation of confidence,

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

I want you to take a minute and think about what Caleb had endured. Caleb waited 45 years to see God's promise fulfilled. But remember, it was not 45 years waiting on a beach resort. No Caleb waited

38 years wandering in the desert.

Watching as everyone he knew passed away. Then if that was not enough,

Caleb waited seven years as the war for Canaan was waged.

We see that all this time

Caleb watched and waited

Caleb knew that God would be faithful. Caleb's faith in the promises of God sustained him during this time so that his passion never waned. It is easy for us to be passionate in a moment. We might be able to maintain our passion for a month if lucky a year. Caleb watched and waited and remained

passionate for 45 years.

Why? Because he trusted the promises of God.

But more than just watching and waiting, it seems to me that Caleb kept himself ready. In verse eleven we see that

Caleb's vigour remained

Scripture is not explicit but I almost wonder if Caleb spent the last 45 years preparing himself for this moment. Certainly, God was capable of preserving Caleb physically but I suspect that Caleb was also actively involved in this. Rather than sitting around waiting for the day to come I picture Caleb hitting the gym out in the desert to make sure he was ready. Caleb's passion did not wane. Caleb kept himself ready for God.

I also note that

Caleb's faith did not fade

In Caleb's presentation, he did not minimize the problem by stating the cities were not actually that large or that strong. No Caleb noted that

the cities were large and fortified

but

with the LORD helping me

I will drive out the people. It was not the case that this was an easy task, no it was the case that a big God was going to handle the task. Again, God's promises are the source of passion.

At age 85, when he might have asked for a quiet place to spend his last days raising some vegetables or flowers, he instead requested that he be given the same section of land that had struck fear into the hearts of the 10 spies. This was the inheritance he desired in fulfillment of God’s earlier promise. Though most older people are more apt to talk about old conflicts than to take on new ones, Caleb was ready for one more good battle. ^[3]

Image: Our vision as a church

As a church, we have a vision of raising generations of Christ-followers who impact our community and our world. We are part-way into our capital campaign but don't forget this is a three year campaign. You might already be tired, you might already have lost hope. To this I say don't lose hope rather

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

God is doing amazing work in our church and he has promised never to leave us or forsake us. Take a moment right now and ask yourself if you have passion for God's church. Ask God to ignite or reignite your passion. In the weeks and months that follow don't forget to remind yourself about the campaign and reignite your passion.

As we continue in the text we see that

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

Let's look at verses 13-15.

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.^[4]

Notice that

God fulfilled his promise

We read that Joshua blessed Caleb. This is not just an act whereby Joshua says "oh sure you betcha." No, here we see the word

ויברכהו (piel of ברכ) - which in the piel means to endue with special power

The NET Bible reads "Joshua asked God to empower Caleb." Joshua saw Caleb's faith and asked God to act in light of that faith. Then Joshua proceeded to give Caleb what he asked for. Caleb received the city of Kiriath Arba. The term Kiriath (קריה) can be translated as city/town and the term Arba we are told is a proper name for a particular Anakim. You may recall that the Anakim were a race of giant men. Mighty warriors.

Kiriath Arba - Named for a mighty Anakim

Caleb received the property of the very people that were so feared by the Israelites. God took Caleb's confidence in his promises and blessed him. Eighty-five-year-old Caleb took a powerful stronghold.

But that is not all!

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 largely because of one man's faith. Moreover, Caleb and his story are followed by the statement "Then the land had rest from war." This same phrase was used in

Joshua 11:23

to describe the completion of the main part of the conquest and now we see it again used of Caleb. Eighty-five-year-old Caleb receives what I think is the greatest honor he could have imagined. His name is recorded as the one who brought peace to the land. Caleb is the one who God used to accomplish his promise.

My action step here is simple to state

MTR: Place your hope in God

but hard to do.

What does it look like to place your hope in God? First, as I stated we must know his promises. If we are to hope in God we must know what we are hoping and expecting. Second, we must ignite our passion for the things of God. There are a lot of things that I am passionate about but time and time again, if those are not of God then I am disappointed. So those two steps are prerequisites. Assuming you have or are taking those two steps then I want to challenge you to think about what you hope for. God has given us promises, do those promises form the foundation of your hope?

Let me give an example, In

Matthew 16:18

1. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 14:6–9.
2. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 14:10–12.
3. ↑ Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 357.
4. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 14:13–15.