1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:59,000 It is. Good morning. We are...wow, we got loud all of a sudden. We are glad to be here. Just a couple of announcements as we begin. 5 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:09,000 We are trying something a little bit different. If you are interested, on the back by the communion, there is a little order of service if you want to follow along. 6 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:16,000 And then on the back, conveniently, so instead of turning it sideways, you got to flip it like this because we don't know what we are doing when we print things. 7 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:24,000 But there is some sort of visual reminders of some things that are coming up. You can stick it on your fridge or by your mirror. 8 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:35,000 Also, we have a digital copy of our bulletin. If you have a cell phone, you can just point your camera at the little code thing and press the button. 9 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:46,000 It will take you to the same kind of thing but with a little bit more information. Just a reminder, we are going to try that and see how it goes and how we do with that. 10 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:57,000 So, with that being said, we are going to begin our worship service this morning. I'm going to begin with a word of prayer, and then we're going to read together from the 25th Psalm. 11 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:14,000 So, let's go ahead and begin with prayer. Father in heaven, I thank you for your goodness. I thank you that you are our strength. I thank you that you are our peace, that you are our joy. 12 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:35,000 We ask this morning that as we gather to worship together, whether it's in singing, or the reading of Scripture, or in prayer, or gathering together around the table, that in all these things we would glorify you, and that through these things you would encourage us and help us to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. 13 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,000 So, we ask that you would be with us this morning. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 14 00:04:40,000 --> 00:05:04,000 So, as we move through our worship service today, one of the things we want to focus on is the goodness and the faithfulness of God. And as we look in just a few minutes in Joshua, the 14th chapter, we look at Caleb, who is a man who is describing, I think, four places in Scripture as being wholly devoted to God. 15 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:17,000 The reason that it's able to be said of him that he was wholly devoted was because he saw God as his strength, as faithful and as good, and as the one who kept him and watched over him. 16 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:28,000 And so if we are to have faith like Caleb, we have to have our focus on the God that Caleb focused on. And so we're going to read about how God strengthens us. 17 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:37,000 We're going to talk about that, and we're going to sing about those things as well. So if you would, go ahead and stand with me as we read together from the 25th Psalm. 18 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:52,000 It says this, and if you would, read with me. "Good and upright is the Lord. Therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right. 19 00:05:52,000 --> 00:06:07,000 He teaches the humble his way. And all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies." 20 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:13,000 This is the word of the Lord. We're going to sing your great name. 21 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:38,000 Lost are saved, find their way At the sound of your great name 22 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:51,000 All condemned, feel no shame At the sound of your great name 23 00:06:51,000 --> 00:07:03,000 Every fear has no place At the sound of your great name 24 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:16,000 The enemy he has to relieve At the sound of your great name 25 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Jesus, worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us Son of God and man who are high and lifted up 26 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:42,000 That all the world will praise your great name 27 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:54,000 All the weak find their strength At the sound of your great name 28 00:07:54,000 --> 00:08:06,000 Hungry souls, receive grace At the sound of your great name 29 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:19,000 The fatherless, they find their rest At the sound of your great name 30 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:32,000 Sick are healed And the dead are raised At the sound of your great name 31 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:48,000 Jesus, worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us Son of God and man who are high and lifted up 32 00:08:48,000 --> 00:09:05,000 That all the world will praise your great name Redeemer, my Healer, Lord Almighty 33 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:17,000 My Saviour, Defender, you are my King Redeemer, my Healer, Lord Almighty 34 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:24,000 My Saviour, Defender, you are my King 35 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Jesus, worthy is the Lamb that was slave for us Son of God and man who are high and lifted up 36 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:50,000 And all the world will praise your great name 37 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Your great name 38 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 Your great name 39 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:34,000 When all I see is the battle You see my victory 40 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:46,000 When all I see is the mountain You see a mountain moved 41 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:56,000 And as I walk through the shadow Your love surrounds me 42 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:09,000 There's nothing to fear now For I'm safe with you 43 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:17,000 So when I fight I'll fight on my knees With my hands lifted high 44 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:25,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you And every fear I lay at your feet 45 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:34,000 I'll sing through the night Oh God, the battle belongs to you 46 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:46,000 And if you are for me, who can be against me? 47 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:57,000 For Jesus, there's nothing impossible for you 48 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:07,000 When all I see are the ashes, you see the beauty 49 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:18,000 When all I see is a cross, God, you see the empty tomb 50 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:26,000 So when I fight, I'll fight on my knees 51 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,000 With my hands lifted high 52 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you 53 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,000 And every fear I lay at your feet 54 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,000 I'll sing through the night 55 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:46,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you 56 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:55,000 Almighty fortress, you go before us 57 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:00,000 Nothing can stand against the power of our God 58 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,000 You shine in the shadow 59 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,000 You win every battle 60 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:15,000 Nothing can stand against the power of our God 61 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 So when I fight, I'll fight on my knees 62 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,000 With my hands lifted high 63 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you 64 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,000 In every field I lay at your feet 65 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,000 I'll sing through the night 66 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:40,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you 67 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:45,000 Oh God, the battle belongs to you 68 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,000 Let's pray. 69 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,000 Amen. 70 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Amen. 71 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,000 Amen. 72 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:28,000 All right, as we prepare to partake together in communion, we're going to sing a song that might be new to some of us. It's called "At the Cross." It's a newer song, not the older version. 73 00:20:40,000 --> 00:21:03,000 There's a place where mercy reigns and never dies. There's a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide. 74 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:26,000 Where all the love I've ever felt comes like a flood, comes flowing down. At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. 75 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:47,000 I'm in awe of you. I'm in awe of you. Where your love red, red, and my sin washed white, I owe all to you. I owe all to you, Jesus. 76 00:21:47,000 --> 00:22:15,000 There's a place where sin and shame are powerless. Where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness. 77 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:43,000 Where all the love I've ever found comes like a flood, comes flowing down. At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. I'm in awe of You. 78 00:22:43,000 --> 00:23:01,000 I'm in awe of You. I'm in awe of You. Where Your love ran red, and my sin washed white, I owe all to You. I owe all to You. 79 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:11,000 Here my hope is found. Here on holy ground. Here I bow down. Here I bow down. 80 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:39,000 Here, arms open wide. Here, You saved my life. Here I bow. Here I bow. At the cross, at the cross, at the end of my life. I'm in awe of You. I'm in awe of You. Where Your love ran red. 81 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:44,080 I'm red, red, and my sin washed white. 82 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,480 I owe all to you. 83 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,700 I owe all to you. 84 00:23:49,700 --> 00:23:52,760 I owe all to you. 85 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:58,080 I owe all to you, Jesus. 86 00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:30,660 And in a few minutes, we are going to be in the book of Joshua. We're going to be reintroduced to somebody that we met, most of us have met in maybe Sunday school or as we've understood the story of the Exodus and Israel's first attempt to enter the land of Canaan, a man by the name of Caleb. 87 00:24:30,660 --> 00:24:46,420 And I want to sort of jump ahead a couple hundred years to a man by the name of David. And one of the things we'll see with Caleb this morning, in just a few minutes, is that he heads into the hills to deal with some giants. 88 00:24:46,420 --> 00:25:00,620 And several hundred years later, the descendants of these giants, one by the name of Goliath, and it's a familiar story to us. The youngest brother of several of his brothers, he comes to visit his brothers as they prepare for battle. 89 00:25:00,660 --> 00:25:27,420 And every day, a giant, a man over nine feet tall by the name of Goliath, would come out and stand in between the armies, and he would taunt the Israelites and make threats against the Israelites and issue a challenge to the Israelites, that if in single combat somebody could beat him, the Philistines would be their slaves, and if he beat the Israelite champion, they would be the Philistine slaves. 90 00:25:27,420 --> 00:25:54,180 Now, this doesn't seem like a great deal, because if you're an average height man going up against a guy who is over nine feet tall, who's a spear, weighs like 125 pounds, it's a pretty terrifying proposition, and so the Israelite army is a little bit discombobulated, because they're facing an army that has giants, and so David, a young man hearing this, nodded the battle, asked why nobody has gone to fight, 91 00:25:54,180 --> 00:26:22,940 and they all say, "Well, he's a giant," and so he says, "I will fight." The king leaps at a chance to have somebody go out and challenge Goliath, and after trying on the king's armor and finding that it doesn't fit, we find this. It says, "David took off the king's armor," this is in 1 Samuel 17, "and then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's pouch, his sling was in his hand, and then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's pouch, his sling was in his hand, and then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's pouch. 92 00:26:22,940 --> 00:26:51,700 So here is this young man, David, approaching the giant Goliath, and before he goes to battle, he simply reaches down and picks up five simple stones. And one of the things that's happened with these stones is we have oftentimes tried to make them sort of symbolic toward us. Here are the stones that you and I need to pick up to fight for the giants. You have the stone of faith, the stone of commitment. 93 00:26:51,700 --> 00:27:20,460 You know, all of these different stones. And I've always kind of wondered why David picks up five stones. Maybe he didn't know how many he would need, didn't know if he would need more than one stone. But an interesting theory I ran across this week is in 2 Samuel chapter 21. It seems like Goliath has four brothers. And if you do the math on that, it's kind of interesting that David, maybe in his faithfulness to God, who he's always already trusted to give him the victory, 94 00:27:20,460 --> 00:27:40,460 is going, "You and your brothers, too." Right? That's David's faith in God. And so David will stand out to the Philistine, and he will kill him with one of the stones, leaving four left over. In fact, David and his army will go on to kill the other four. We read about that in 2 Samuel, the 21st chapter. 95 00:27:40,460 --> 00:27:57,460 We often look at the story of David and Goliath as the story of us, that we have to stand up against the giants in our life, when in reality, we aren't the brave and courageous David, that we are often the fearful Israelites. 96 00:27:57,460 --> 00:28:07,460 As we face the giants of our sin, and our shame, and our fear, and our brokenness, and we look ahead to those, and we say, "There's no way I can face them." 97 00:28:07,460 --> 00:28:18,460 But then God sends us a champion. He sends us Jesus, who steps out between us and our fears, and He wins the victory on our behalf. 98 00:28:18,460 --> 00:28:32,460 And so as we come to the Lord's Supper this morning, that's what we are coming to remember, is the fact that we didn't feel, Jesus did, and He gave us the victory. So let's pray. 99 00:28:32,460 --> 00:28:44,460 Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for grace. I thank you for hope. I thank you for the goodness of salvation. I thank you that you stepped out in front of your fearful people, and that you have saved us. 100 00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:50,460 We ask that you bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 101 00:28:50,460 --> 00:29:00,460 If you would take your bread with me, as Paul recounts in 1 Corinthians 15: "For what I received from the Lord, I delivered to you, that on the night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, 102 00:29:00,460 --> 00:29:10,460 he took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'" 103 00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:24,460 In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 104 00:29:24,460 --> 00:29:33,460 Then we hear these words, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 105 00:29:33,460 --> 00:29:53,460 This morning's reading is from Joshua 14. 106 00:29:54,460 --> 00:30:06,460 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenzite, said to him, 107 00:30:06,460 --> 00:30:19,460 "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, 108 00:30:19,460 --> 00:30:32,460 the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again, and it was in my heart. 109 00:30:32,460 --> 00:30:44,460 But my brothers who went with me made the heart of the people melt, yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 110 00:30:44,460 --> 00:30:56,460 And Moses swore that day, saying, "Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, 111 00:30:56,460 --> 00:31:07,460 because you have wholly followed the Lord my God." And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, 112 00:31:07,460 --> 00:31:17,460 these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. 113 00:31:17,460 --> 00:31:30,460 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. 114 00:31:30,460 --> 00:31:37,460 My strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 115 00:31:37,460 --> 00:31:54,460 So, now give me the 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. 116 00:31:54,460 --> 00:32:03,460 It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out, just as the Lord said. 117 00:32:03,460 --> 00:32:20,460 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, for an inheritance. Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenzite. 118 00:32:20,460 --> 00:32:45,460 In that day, to this day, because he was holy, followed the Lord, or the God of Israel. Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kirath Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim, and the land had rest from war. This is the word of the Lord. 119 00:32:45,460 --> 00:32:47,460 Praise be to God. 120 00:32:50,460 --> 00:33:19,460 Our kids have adopted the habit of beginning to sort of read road signs, which can be both good because it gives them something to do while we're driving, but also bad because they realize there's a McDonald's at the next exit. 121 00:33:19,460 --> 00:33:48,460 And as we think about signs on the side of the road, one of the things that signs can do is they can sort of communicate what is ahead of us, right? We see mileage markers this long until this city, this long until this highway intersects ours, but they can also sometimes on occasion show us what is behind us. So if you're going out 522 north and you pass Shawnee Springs Market, you'll get a sign that's like, you just missed it. Turn around at the next exit or the next turnaround. 122 00:33:48,460 --> 00:34:18,440 But signs also, as they promised, point to what's behind and point to what's ahead. Sometimes signs can give us details about what is happening in the moment or what's about to happen. We've all seen those construction signs that will say single lane road ahead or signs that will say starting in December 27th, we're going to begin repaving this road. And when we come to Joshua, one of the wonderful things about this book is that in many ways, 123 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:48,420 it points us as a sign in a lot of different directions. One, it points us back to all the wonderful promises of God. We see them fulfilled in Joshua. Promises that go all the way back to the book of Genesis and even in places echo Adam and Eve and sort of reverse their leaving the garden. And we see as Israel comes into the promised land, there's sort of a symbolic picture of God bringing them back into his place and in his presence. 124 00:34:48,420 --> 00:35:18,400 As it points us backwards, we also see sort of the wonder. It points us to the wonder and the complexity and the way Scripture is woven together into this beautiful tapestry. One of the ways we see that just this morning, as you heard Brent read, one of the towns that Caleb is given is the town of Hebron. It's a town where Abraham lived. It's a town where Sarah was buried. It ended up being a town where all the patriarchs are buried. 125 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:39,400 It's places as sites in terms of the Jewish faith. The Muslims revere it as holy as well because it is where the patriarchs are buried. But it will also, in the future, go on to become the temporary capital for King David before he assumes the control of the entire land and takes his place in the city of Jerusalem. 126 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:48,380 So not only does it point us backwards, not only does it show us what's happening as Scripture is tied together in this beautiful tapestry, the book of Joshua also points us 127 00:35:48,380 --> 00:36:18,360 forward to one who will lead us into the rest that God has promised, very clearly pointing us to Jesus. Sometimes in huge ways, like for example, the name Joshua, right from Hebrew into English, is what Jesus would have been called in Hebrew. His name Yeshua comes into Greek, Jesus comes into English as Jesus. And so in a big way, it points us to Jesus, but in many small 128 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:48,340 ways, too, as we see Joshua interceding and saving and leading his people, so Jesus leads us. And so this morning, we're going to be back in the book of Joshua, going to take a look at maybe a story or an account that maybe we don't know as well as some of the others in Scripture. So we're going to pray, and we'll dive right into it. Father in heaven, I thank you for your word. I thank you for your church, and I thank you for this account 129 00:36:48,340 --> 00:37:18,320 of the wholehearted faithfulness of Caleb. So be with us this morning as we look at these words. May you encourage us and strengthen us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So in just a minute, we will be in Joshua, the 14th chapter, and we're going to sort of take a look at this passage that Brent just read. Now, Joshua, so far that we've seen as we sort of went through, you know, 11 or 12 or 13 130 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:48,300 sermons in Joshua at the end of last year, we see sort of two big divisions. One is a division that's full of excitement and battle and conquest and all of these different things happening. And then we move into this section where the land is being distributed. And it kind of reads to many of us a little bit like going down to read property records at the county courthouse. Unless you have a specific reason for being there or you need something specific, probably most of us don't go down to the county 131 00:37:48,300 --> 00:38:18,280 courthouse and read property records. And it can seem like that section of Joshua to us is a little bit difficult because it's about as exciting as property records. This tribe gets this land marked by these boundaries, and this tribe gets this land marked by these boundaries. But in the reality, what we see is not something that's dull and boring, but in many ways it is a culmination of God's promises stretching all the way back to Abraham. And we see God's faithfulness 132 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:48,260 as he brings his people into the land. And it wouldn't have been for the Israelites sort of a boring property record reading for them. It would have been like for us if when we were little on Christmas morning and we wake up and there's all these wonderful presents under the tree and we're excited for God's people who have been wandering in the dryness of the world. This would have been an ecstatic moment to see, and here's where I get to live, and here is what God has given me. 133 00:38:48,260 --> 00:39:18,240 So these two things, all of the battles and all of the property records, almost on the dividing line, we find the account of a man by the name of Caleb. And as Brent read in our text, I want to give you a little bit of Caleb's story. And as we read and heard Caleb's story, we see sort of three things that stand out to us right away. First of all, there is a record of what has happened in the past. 134 00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:30,240 There is a request for what Caleb wants right now. And then there is this refrain, or this chorus, that underlies this entire text. 135 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:37,240 And we start with the record of what happened. Caleb says this, starting in verse 7, 136 00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:48,220 "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me to Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again, as it was in my heart, 137 00:39:48,220 --> 00:39:55,220 but my brothers who went up with me made the heart of my people melt, yet I wholly followed the Lord." 138 00:39:55,220 --> 00:40:05,220 Now to get the entire story of what Caleb is referencing here, we need to go back to the book of Numbers, specifically Numbers chapter 13 and Numbers chapter 14. 139 00:40:05,220 --> 00:40:18,200 Because the event that Caleb is referencing in this point, it's a huge deal. It's a dividing line in Israel's time in the wilderness. 140 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:26,200 They're preparing to approach the land of Canaan for the first time, and we'll see why it's the first time, and they're now on their second time in just a minute. 141 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:39,200 Moses gets guys together, one from each tribe, to go into the land and to sort of conduct reconnaissance about what is happening in this land. 142 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:46,200 And he wants them to find some very specific things, right? He wants them to find out if people are strong or weak. 143 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:54,200 Are there a lot of them, or are there a few of them? Is their land good or bad? Is it flat? Is it cultivated? Are there trees? 144 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:58,200 And he wants to find out the state of their population centers. 145 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:04,200 Are they living in tents, sort of moving from place to place? Or do they have fortified cities? Because that changes your battle plans. 146 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:12,200 If you're going against an encampment of nomadic herders, it's different from encountering a fortified city. 147 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,200 And then he will say, "Bring back some of the produce as well." 148 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:25,200 So one man from each tribe, 12 in total, go into the land and they will spend 40 days reconning the land of Israel. 149 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:31,200 And as they come back, and this gives you a picture of the land, it says this in Numbers 13:23, 150 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:37,200 "And they came from the valley of Eskol." This is where Caleb wants to live, and you'll see why in just a minute. 151 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:49,200 "They cut down there from a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them, and they brought some pomegranates and figs." 152 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:56,200 Now, if that doesn't capture your imagination, to think about the size of this, right? 153 00:41:56,200 --> 00:42:06,200 You've got two guys, one on each end, and they are carrying a single vine with a single cluster of grapes, and it takes two guys to do this, right? 154 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:13,200 My kids would lose their mind, right? Because we get a bag of grapes from the grocery store, and you've got a whole bunch of clusters, 155 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:25,200 and, you know, it's this little bag, and it doesn't last very long, and here is one cluster of grapes, and it is so big that guys have to carry it on a pole between them, right? 156 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:35,200 And they're coming back going, "This is the land that God is giving us. Just look at the size of these grapes, right? This is one cluster on one stick, and it takes two 157 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:46,200 of us to carry it." It's remarkable. Kind of see why Caleb might want to live there 45 years later. The report that these 12 spies 158 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:53,200 bring back, it's kind of a classic good news, bad news scenario, right? We always get asked when somebody has bad news, maybe we 159 00:42:53,200 --> 00:43:03,200 try to soften it with good news, or maybe we try to overshadow it with good news. My personality, I want to hear the bad news first, and then you can 160 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:09,200 tell me the good news, because oftentimes good news is just simply trying to soften you up and put you in a good 161 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:16,200 mood for the bad news. And so here's the good news and the bad news in Numbers 13. "We came to the land which 162 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:23,200 you sent us. It flows with milk and honey. This is the fruit. This giant cluster of grapes takes two guys to hold it. 163 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:29,200 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified, very large. Besides, we saw the 164 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:37,200 descendants of Anak there. Anak, a giant named, this area is named for him. And then you have all the 165 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:45,200 the Amalekites, all the Jebusites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites. And the people are strong. 166 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:54,200 The cities are strong. It's just not a good place to go. And out of these 12 spies, 10 of them will bring a 167 00:43:54,200 --> 00:44:02,200 discouraging report. In fact, their report will end with these words, "We seemed like grasshoppers." Or so we 168 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:09,200 seemed to them. They said, "We are so small in comparison to these people in this valley that we look like 169 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:16,200 grasshoppers do when we look at grasshoppers." They say, "We're overshadowed." And they simply say, "We don't think 170 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:22,200 we should go into the land." In fact, there is an outcry of grumbling among the people. They say, "Oh, you brought us 171 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:29,200 out here to die." The chorus they sang since they left Egypt at the Red Sea, and after the Red Sea, and when 172 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:33,200 there's no food, and when there's enemies, and when Moses is on the mountain, they say, "You just brought us 173 00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:41,200 out here to die." And then two of the spies stand up and hear their words, "Joshua, the son of Nun, 174 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:47,200 and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who spied out the land. They tore their clothes." They're 175 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:52,200 giving a sort of an external appearance to what's going on inside of them. They are torn 176 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:58,200 up inside. They said to the congregation of the people of Israel, "The land in which we have 177 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:04,200 passed through to spy out, it is exceedingly good land. And if the Lord delights in us, he 178 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:09,200 will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey." They 179 00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:16,200 say, "God is for us, and he can bring us into this land." And they're shouted down, not just 180 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:24,200 by the ten other spies, but by the congregation of Israel. And the result for the people of 181 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:31,200 Israel is judgment. And nobody over the age of 40 years old, with the exception of Joshua 182 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:37,200 and Caleb, will be allowed to see the land, and the Israel will then wander the wilderness. 183 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:45,200 In fact, by the time we get to this passage in Joshua, it has been 45 years since this 184 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:54,200 event. And so we have Joshua, recording as we record this, and Caleb goes back and sort 185 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:58,200 of recaps all the things that led him to this point. He gives the report, and now 186 00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:03,200 he's going to bring his request. And his request is, "When all of this happened 45 187 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:09,200 years ago, Moses said, because of my wholehearted service to God, that this would 188 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:14,200 be my inheritance." Now, Caleb's request is not one of those, "Can I have 189 00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:19,200 it, can I have it, I want it, I want it," kind of things. Caleb's request, as they 190 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:26,200 have finished the majority of their campaign against the land of Canaan, and as the tribes 191 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:30,200 have been begin to get their inheritance, they come to the tribe of Judah, which Caleb 192 00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:37,200 is a part, and he's coming to Joshua saying, "Is now the time? In my faithfulness, God 193 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:43,200 promised this to me through Moses, and is now the time for me to take this 194 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:49,200 land." And so we begin with a report of what happens 45 years ago. We come to this 195 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:55,200 request that I want to take this land, and Caleb's request is not sort of a passive 196 00:46:55,200 --> 00:47:00,200 one, right? I want a full-service buffet. I want my house belt. He's coming into a 197 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:06,200 land that is occupied with giants that he, at 85 years old, is going to have to fight 198 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:12,200 for, and he goes with an enthusiasm that is lacking to many of us who are younger. He goes, 199 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:18,200 I'm ready for what God has for me at 85 years old. And so he comes with his 200 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:24,200 request, and then throughout these entire verses, there is this refrain that is 201 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:30,200 repeated. And you might have picked up on it as Brent had read through it. It's a 202 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:35,200 refrain of faithfulness. And it's this testimony where Caleb says, "I have wholly 203 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:41,200 followed the Lord. I have wholly followed the Lord." And as Joshua gives 204 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:47,200 him this land, it's given because he wholly follows the Lord. It's echoed 205 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:55,200 again in Numbers chapter 32. You hear these words, "Surely none of the men who came up 206 00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:59,200 out of Egypt from 20 years old and upward shall see the land that I swore to give 207 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:04,200 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they had not wholly followed me. None 208 00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:10,200 except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, for they 209 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:19,200 wholly followed the Lord." Right? Think about that impact. If you had to sum up, and God 210 00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:26,200 does, and Moses does, and Joshua references it, and Caleb says it, and he says the 211 00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:33,200 summary of the life of Caleb is this, is that he wholly followed the Lord. Right? Not 212 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:39,200 partly, but wholly. And that word in the original Hebrew, it can mean two things. It 213 00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:44,200 can mean filled to the top. If you're filling up a pitcher of water or a bag of 214 00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:49,200 grain, it's used of Joseph's brothers in Egypt when they're getting their grain 215 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:54,200 bags filled. They're filled all the way up, but it can also be used in terms of a 216 00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:58,200 passage of time. Right? Two weeks until now, and then you get to the end of two 217 00:48:58,200 --> 00:49:03,200 weeks, and that time is completely filled up. Right? It's done. It's passed. This 218 00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:08,200 is a picture of completeness. That Caleb's life, both in terms of 219 00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:14,200 who he is being filled up and the time in which he has lived has been completely 220 00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:19,200 devoted to the Lord. What a testimony, right? What a wonderful 221 00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:25,200 summary of a life that is wholly devoted to the Lord. And so it's 222 00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:31,200 that refrain of faithfulness that I want us to look at just for a few 223 00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:37,200 minutes this morning. And I want you to see, first of all, that Caleb's faith is 224 00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:43,200 courageous, right? It costs him something to have this kind of faith. It is a risky 225 00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:47,200 thing for him to have this kind of faith. Because as you go back to Numbers 226 00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:53,200 chapter 13 and Numbers chapter 14, you will find out that Caleb, as he declares 227 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:57,200 his faith in God, is not doing it in front of a group who is 228 00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:02,200 real excited to hear him say good things about God. He's first of all 229 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:06,200 doing it in the face of being outnumbered by ten other spies, right? It's him 230 00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:10,200 and Joshua. And he stands against the peer pressure 231 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:14,200 of those who had spied with him. And it may not be a big 232 00:50:14,200 --> 00:50:17,200 deal. Ten people isn't that big of a deal. But then you get the entire 233 00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:21,200 congregation of Israel. Who hears Caleb's 234 00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:24,200 declaration. And their response is not 235 00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:27,200 a good sermon. Or yes, we agree, you're right, 236 00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:30,200 we should trust God. But you know what their 237 00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:34,200 response is? It's a response 238 00:50:34,200 --> 00:50:36,200 of picking up stones 239 00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:38,200 and seeking to kill him. 240 00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:40,200 That for Caleb to say that I 241 00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:42,200 trust God, and that I trust 242 00:50:42,200 --> 00:50:44,200 He will give us the land, 243 00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:46,200 it was risky. And it required him 244 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:48,200 to be courageous. 245 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:50,200 And Caleb's faith is courageous, 246 00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:52,200 and it hasn't ceased to be courageous 247 00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:54,200 because as he asked for this land of 248 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:56,200 Hebron, and the hills that are there, 249 00:50:56,200 --> 00:50:58,200 there is the sons of Anak, 250 00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:00,200 these giants 251 00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:02,200 who inhabit the land. And we learn 252 00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:04,200 from David that Goliath was like 253 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:06,200 nine and a half feet tall. 254 00:51:06,200 --> 00:51:10,200 And here, Caleb 255 00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:12,200 at 85 years old, 256 00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:14,200 is ready to head into the hills 257 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:16,200 and to fight these giants. 258 00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:18,200 Caleb's faith 259 00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:20,200 is courageous. 260 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:22,200 I want us to think, maybe by way 261 00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:24,200 of contrast, about our faith. 262 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:26,200 Most of us maybe don't have 263 00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:28,200 to stand up for faith 264 00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:30,200 in terms of losing our life like Caleb 265 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:32,200 did, but there are Christians meeting 266 00:51:32,200 --> 00:51:34,200 this morning in parts of the world where 267 00:51:34,200 --> 00:51:36,200 to gather with their brothers and sisters 268 00:51:36,200 --> 00:51:38,200 in Christ is a risky 269 00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:40,200 thing. It's a dangerous 270 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:42,200 thing. Not just in terms of maybe their 271 00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:44,200 economics or the comfort 272 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:46,200 of their life, but for their very 273 00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:48,200 being. 274 00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:50,200 By gathering with God's people for 275 00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,200 being Christian, they could die. 276 00:51:52,200 --> 00:51:54,200 I want us to think about our faith because 277 00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:56,200 often times, it's not the 278 00:51:56,200 --> 00:51:58,200 threat of life or death that gets 279 00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:00,200 us. It's the threat of ridicule. 280 00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:02,200 It's the fear of 281 00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:04,200 what others will think. Seeking to 282 00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:06,200 conform, not seeking to be different. 283 00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:08,200 And here, Caleb has 284 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:10,200 this faith that in the face 285 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:12,200 of opposition is 286 00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:14,200 courageous. 287 00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:16,200 We also see that Caleb's faith 288 00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,200 is patient. 289 00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:20,200 And I love this because he waits 290 00:52:20,200 --> 00:52:22,200 for 45 years 291 00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:24,200 from the promise of God 292 00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:26,200 through Moses to 293 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:28,200 now. It's been 45 294 00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:30,200 years. I don't know about you, 295 00:52:30,200 --> 00:52:32,200 but I get frustrated at having to wait. 296 00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:34,200 I ordered some stuff the week of 297 00:52:34,200 --> 00:52:36,200 Christmas, and I knew it probably wouldn't get here 298 00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:38,200 as fast as I wanted it to, 299 00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:40,200 but when I saw they shifted on like 300 00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:42,200 the 23rd, I was like, "Yes, it might 301 00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:44,200 get here. It's not coming from that far away." 302 00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:46,200 And by Christmas Eve, it had made 303 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:48,200 it to Dulles in the tracking 304 00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:50,200 the day after Christmas Eve. 305 00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:52,200 On Christmas Day, it was in Winchester, set out 306 00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:54,200 for delivery on Monday. I'm like, "Yes, 307 00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:56,200 it's going to be here on time." 308 00:52:56,200 --> 00:52:58,200 And then we had to run Monday night 309 00:52:58,200 --> 00:53:00,200 to visit some friends, 310 00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:02,200 and I see the tracking 311 00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:04,200 and it says, "You estimated 4:30, 312 00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:06,200 5:30." We left about 4:30. 313 00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:08,200 You didn't see FedEx anywhere. 314 00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:10,200 As I'm driving, I get this notification, 315 00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:12,200 "Your package is undeliverable because there's no one 316 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:14,200 there." Didn't need a signature. They just 317 00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:16,200 drove by the church and said, "Hey, let's look at everybody's home. 318 00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:18,200 Let's just keep going." And so then it's another 319 00:53:18,200 --> 00:53:20,200 day of having to wait. 320 00:53:20,200 --> 00:53:22,200 And so about 4:30, I'm just standing outside going, 321 00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:24,200 "You're not going to miss me this time." 322 00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:26,200 And so here I am, incredibly impatient, 323 00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:28,200 because I had to wait a 324 00:53:28,200 --> 00:53:30,200 day for something dumb. 325 00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:32,200 Here's 326 00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:34,200 Caleb, who is 327 00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:36,200 waiting for his home, 328 00:53:36,200 --> 00:53:38,200 his inheritance, 329 00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,200 for 45 330 00:53:40,200 --> 00:53:42,200 years. 331 00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:44,200 That's 332 00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:46,200 remarkable. And he waits 333 00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:48,200 patiently. 334 00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:50,200 We also see that Caleb's 335 00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:52,200 faith, in addition to being courageous 336 00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:54,200 and patient 337 00:53:54,200 --> 00:53:56,200 is active, right? 338 00:53:56,200 --> 00:53:58,200 He doesn't just speak about it. 339 00:53:58,200 --> 00:54:00,200 He doesn't just say, "I'm going to go take this land 340 00:54:00,200 --> 00:54:02,200 if God will give it to me." Look at chapter, 341 00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:04,200 well, start with 342 00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:06,200 chapter 14, verse 12. 343 00:54:06,200 --> 00:54:08,200 He says, "Give me this hill country 344 00:54:08,200 --> 00:54:10,200 of which the Lord spoke on that day you heard 345 00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:12,200 from me, on the day about how the Anakim 346 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:14,200 were there with their great fortified 347 00:54:14,200 --> 00:54:16,200 cities. It may be that the Lord 348 00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:18,200 will be with me, and I'll drive them out 349 00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:20,200 as the Lord said." He doesn't just talk 350 00:54:20,200 --> 00:54:22,200 about it. Look at chapter 15, verse 13. 351 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:24,200 "According to the commandment of the 352 00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:26,200 Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb, 353 00:54:26,200 --> 00:54:28,200 the son of Jephunneh, a portion 354 00:54:28,200 --> 00:54:30,200 among the people of Judah, 355 00:54:30,200 --> 00:54:32,200 Kirith Arbam," that is Hebron. 356 00:54:32,200 --> 00:54:34,200 Arbam was the father of Anak. 357 00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:36,200 "And Caleb drove out from there 358 00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:38,200 three sons of Anak: 359 00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,200 Sheshai, Amon, 360 00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:42,200 Talamay, the descendants 361 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:44,200 of Anak." Caleb doesn't just simply 362 00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:46,200 talk about it or think about it. 363 00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,200 He goes to work and he 364 00:54:48,200 --> 00:54:50,200 fights the giants. 365 00:54:50,200 --> 00:54:52,200 I want you to see that Caleb's faith 366 00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:54,200 is courageous, it's patient, 367 00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:56,200 it's active, 368 00:54:56,200 --> 00:54:58,200 but also in contrast to many of the 369 00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,200 Israelites, it is outstanding. 370 00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:02,200 In Joshua, the 17th chapter, 371 00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:04,200 Joshua begins to 372 00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:06,200 distribute the land to the tribe of 373 00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:08,200 Manasseh. 374 00:55:08,200 --> 00:55:10,200 And what you find is the tribe 375 00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:12,200 of Manasseh almost immediately 376 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,200 begins to complain, and they will say 377 00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:16,200 this: 378 00:55:16,200 --> 00:55:20,200 The hill country is not enough for us. 379 00:55:20,200 --> 00:55:22,200 It's not big enough. Yet all the Canaanites 380 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:24,200 who dwell in this plain, 381 00:55:24,200 --> 00:55:26,200 both those in Bethshea and its villages 382 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:28,200 and those in the valley of Jezreel, 383 00:55:28,200 --> 00:55:30,200 they don't wholly 384 00:55:30,200 --> 00:55:32,200 devote themselves to God, and they begin 385 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:34,200 to complain. 386 00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:36,200 And I want you to notice this contrast. 387 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,200 Joshua will go on to promise 388 00:55:38,200 --> 00:55:40,200 them that God will care for them. 389 00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,200 But in Joshua chapter 14, you have 390 00:55:42,200 --> 00:55:44,200 an 85-year-old man, 391 00:55:44,200 --> 00:55:46,200 doesn't have a whole tribe. 392 00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:48,200 He has his family. In fact, at one point 393 00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:50,200 he has to advertise for a son-in-law 394 00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:52,200 in order to help take more manpower 395 00:55:52,200 --> 00:55:54,200 to take one of the cities. 396 00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:56,200 One man and his family 397 00:55:56,200 --> 00:55:58,200 facing the giants in the hills 398 00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:00,200 in faith, and on the other hand 399 00:56:00,200 --> 00:56:02,200 in Joshua 17, 400 00:56:02,200 --> 00:56:04,200 you have an entire tribe of Manasseh 401 00:56:04,200 --> 00:56:06,200 who goes, "Oh, we can't go live 402 00:56:06,200 --> 00:56:08,200 down there because everybody is real scary." 403 00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:10,200 And God will go on to promise 404 00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:12,200 that He will help deliver them just as He delivered 405 00:56:12,200 --> 00:56:14,200 Caleb. 406 00:56:14,200 --> 00:56:16,200 But notice this picture of Caleb's faith. 407 00:56:16,200 --> 00:56:18,200 That in relation to 408 00:56:18,200 --> 00:56:20,200 Israel, he has this faith that goes 409 00:56:20,200 --> 00:56:22,200 deep. It runs 410 00:56:22,200 --> 00:56:24,200 strong. It's courageous. 411 00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:26,200 It's patient. It's active. 412 00:56:26,200 --> 00:56:28,200 And it's this faith that is 413 00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,200 remarkable. 414 00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:32,200 And so the question 415 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:34,200 that probably many of us face as we look 416 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:36,200 at Caleb's faith is, 417 00:56:36,200 --> 00:56:38,200 "How can I have faith like that? Or even 418 00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:40,200 am I able to have faith 419 00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:42,200 like this?" And the problem with this 420 00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:44,200 is we immediately begin to look at the 421 00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:46,200 wrong spot for faith. 422 00:56:46,200 --> 00:56:48,200 And I would say this. 423 00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:50,200 The faith that 424 00:56:50,200 --> 00:56:52,200 Caleb has is not found in his grit 425 00:56:52,200 --> 00:56:54,200 or his determination or his 426 00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,200 strength, right? 427 00:56:56,200 --> 00:56:58,200 Maybe that's what we say. If I'm strong enough, if I'm 428 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:00,200 determined enough, if I have enough grit 429 00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:02,200 that I can be like Caleb, the problem 430 00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:04,200 is we don't have enough determination. 431 00:57:04,200 --> 00:57:06,200 We don't have enough strength. We don't have 432 00:57:06,200 --> 00:57:08,200 enough grit. I would say that Caleb doesn't either. 433 00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:10,200 We'll see the answer to his faith in a moment. 434 00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,200 The other 435 00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:14,200 place we seek for a strong faith 436 00:57:14,200 --> 00:57:16,200 is often found in our own 437 00:57:16,200 --> 00:57:18,200 self-confidence, right? This describes 438 00:57:18,200 --> 00:57:20,200 every construction project 439 00:57:20,200 --> 00:57:22,200 that I've ever undertaken. 440 00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:24,200 One of the most disastrous was like 441 00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:26,200 a month and a half after Rachel and I got 442 00:57:26,200 --> 00:57:28,200 married, she has this spiritual gift 443 00:57:28,200 --> 00:57:30,200 of being able to find things on sale very 444 00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:32,200 cheaply. She found a ceiling fan 445 00:57:32,200 --> 00:57:34,200 marked down from like $150 446 00:57:34,200 --> 00:57:36,200 to $499, and we're like, "Hey, we're gonna put 447 00:57:36,200 --> 00:57:38,200 a ceiling fan." I said, "Oh yeah, I can do that in like 448 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,200 20 minutes." Right? I began to tear 449 00:57:40,200 --> 00:57:42,200 down the light, realize 450 00:57:42,200 --> 00:57:44,200 you never put a ceiling fan in before. 451 00:57:44,200 --> 00:57:46,200 You need a ceiling fan box. 452 00:57:46,200 --> 00:57:48,200 So I go and get a ceiling fan box, and I get it in 453 00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:50,200 there. I'm like, "Yeah, it's good." And realize that 454 00:57:50,200 --> 00:57:52,200 the hole now is so big 455 00:57:52,200 --> 00:57:54,200 for me having to put a ceiling fan box 456 00:57:54,200 --> 00:57:56,200 in that I can't connect 457 00:57:56,200 --> 00:57:58,200 it in the appropriate way. I have to go back and get one of those 458 00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:00,200 medallion things to try to cover up 459 00:58:00,200 --> 00:58:02,200 my shoddy sheetrock work 460 00:58:02,200 --> 00:58:04,200 and make it look okay. 461 00:58:04,200 --> 00:58:06,200 Then I realized I didn't have wire nuts 462 00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:08,200 to wire everything in. So like the fourth trip 463 00:58:08,200 --> 00:58:10,200 to Lowe's was like 8:59, 464 00:58:10,200 --> 00:58:12,200 and they close at 9:00. I'm in the door, 465 00:58:12,200 --> 00:58:14,200 "Oh, have a good evening." Yeah, how can I have a good evening? 466 00:58:14,200 --> 00:58:16,200 I've been at this project now for like six hours 467 00:58:16,200 --> 00:58:18,200 for a ceiling fan. 468 00:58:18,200 --> 00:58:20,200 Get it all wired in, 469 00:58:20,200 --> 00:58:22,200 pat myself on the back for overcoming 470 00:58:22,200 --> 00:58:24,200 such trauma and all these hurdles. 471 00:58:24,200 --> 00:58:26,200 Turn the light on. 472 00:58:26,200 --> 00:58:28,200 Oh, it comes on. 473 00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,200 Turn it off, and you hear Rachel go, 474 00:58:30,200 --> 00:58:32,200 "Why'd you turn off all the lights in the bathroom?" 475 00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:36,200 because the wires through the ceiling fan 476 00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:38,200 were also the junction box for everything on that breaker 477 00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:40,200 for some reason. 478 00:58:40,200 --> 00:58:42,200 So now I had to take the ceiling fan 479 00:58:42,200 --> 00:58:44,200 back down and rewire 480 00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:46,200 the entire thing, right? 481 00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:48,200 Here I am going, "I've got 482 00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:50,200 this." And you and I do the same 483 00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:52,200 thing with our faith. "I've got this." 484 00:58:52,200 --> 00:58:54,200 And then we encounter it, 485 00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:56,200 and what happens? We don't. 486 00:58:56,200 --> 00:58:58,200 We don't have it. Or maybe 487 00:58:58,200 --> 00:59:00,200 we come to our faith 488 00:59:00,200 --> 00:59:02,200 with enthusiasm and excitement, 489 00:59:02,200 --> 00:59:04,200 right? 490 00:59:04,200 --> 00:59:06,200 What happens when you get tired, right? 491 00:59:06,200 --> 00:59:08,200 This is what happens to our New Year's resolutions. 492 00:59:08,200 --> 00:59:10,200 We start out going, "Man, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this." 493 00:59:10,200 --> 00:59:12,200 And we're enthusiastic, and we're excited, 494 00:59:12,200 --> 00:59:14,200 and we're ready to go. And the first 495 00:59:14,200 --> 00:59:16,200 obstacle, we go, "Ah." 496 00:59:16,200 --> 00:59:18,200 Maybe next year, right? 497 00:59:18,200 --> 00:59:20,200 I've got another 11 months to get ready for this. 498 00:59:20,200 --> 00:59:22,200 You can't base your faith 499 00:59:22,200 --> 00:59:24,200 on your grit or determination. 500 00:59:24,200 --> 00:59:26,200 You can't base your faith on your self-confidence. 501 00:59:26,200 --> 00:59:28,200 You can't base 502 00:59:28,200 --> 00:59:30,200 You can't base your faith 503 00:59:30,200 --> 00:59:32,200 on your own excitement. 504 00:59:32,200 --> 00:59:34,200 There is only one place 505 00:59:34,200 --> 00:59:36,200 that faith can be based. 506 00:59:36,200 --> 00:59:38,200 You see, the source of Caleb's faith 507 00:59:38,200 --> 00:59:40,200 is not in his strength 508 00:59:40,200 --> 00:59:42,200 or his emotions 509 00:59:42,200 --> 00:59:44,200 or in his actions. 510 00:59:44,200 --> 00:59:46,200 It's anchored in God. 511 00:59:46,200 --> 00:59:48,200 We find in this text, 512 00:59:48,200 --> 00:59:50,200 and you've got to read through this text a couple times to pick this up, 513 00:59:50,200 --> 00:59:52,200 but one of the things that happens 514 00:59:52,200 --> 00:59:54,200 in both verse 10 and verse 12 515 00:59:54,200 --> 00:59:56,200 is Caleb's faith is based in the fact 516 00:59:56,200 --> 00:59:58,200 that he has heard what God has had to say. 517 00:59:58,200 --> 01:00:00,200 And in verse 10, 518 01:00:00,200 --> 01:00:02,200 he'll say that he spoke, 519 01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:04,200 second half of verse 10, 520 01:00:04,200 --> 01:00:06,200 "The Lord said," verse 12, 521 01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:08,200 "The Lord spoke," verse 12, 522 01:00:08,200 --> 01:00:10,200 "The Lord said," and one of the reasons 523 01:00:10,200 --> 01:00:12,200 that Caleb has this faith 524 01:00:12,200 --> 01:00:14,200 is because he has seen what God 525 01:00:14,200 --> 01:00:16,200 has said. 526 01:00:16,200 --> 01:00:18,200 And the second reason that Caleb has this faith 527 01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:20,200 is because he has seen what God has done. 528 01:00:20,200 --> 01:00:22,200 Listen to what he says. 529 01:00:22,200 --> 01:00:24,200 "Now behold, the Lord has kept me alive, 530 01:00:24,200 --> 01:00:26,200 just as he said." 531 01:00:26,200 --> 01:00:28,200 These 45 years 532 01:00:28,200 --> 01:00:30,200 since the time that the Lord spoke 533 01:00:30,200 --> 01:00:32,200 this word to Moses 534 01:00:32,200 --> 01:00:34,200 while Israel was in the wilderness, 535 01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:36,200 "Now behold, I am 85 years old, 536 01:00:36,200 --> 01:00:38,200 and I'm still as strong today 537 01:00:38,200 --> 01:00:40,200 as I was in the day that Moses 538 01:00:40,200 --> 01:00:42,200 sent me." 539 01:00:42,200 --> 01:00:44,200 My strength now, as my strength was then, 540 01:00:44,200 --> 01:00:46,200 for war, and for going out, 541 01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:48,200 and for coming in. 542 01:00:48,200 --> 01:00:50,200 God said this, God said that, 543 01:00:50,200 --> 01:00:52,200 and then Caleb says, "I've also seen what God has done." 544 01:00:52,200 --> 01:00:54,200 And he speaks of himself personally, 545 01:00:54,200 --> 01:00:56,200 but you have to also realize 546 01:00:56,200 --> 01:00:58,200 that Caleb has seen all the 547 01:00:58,200 --> 01:01:00,200 the conquest of Canaan 548 01:01:00,200 --> 01:01:02,200 from the Red Sea, 549 01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:04,200 well, he's actually seen 550 01:01:04,200 --> 01:01:06,200 everything from Egypt, right? 551 01:01:06,200 --> 01:01:08,200 From the Red Sea, the wilderness, 552 01:01:08,200 --> 01:01:10,200 to the Jordan River, 553 01:01:10,200 --> 01:01:12,200 to the walls of Jericho. 554 01:01:12,200 --> 01:01:14,200 Caleb hasn't just heard 555 01:01:14,200 --> 01:01:16,200 what God has done. He's seen what God has done. 556 01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:18,200 You see, the foundation of 557 01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:20,200 Caleb's faith is not Caleb. 558 01:01:20,200 --> 01:01:24,200 The foundation of Caleb's faith 559 01:01:24,200 --> 01:01:26,200 is anchored in what 560 01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:28,200 God has said and what God has done. 561 01:01:28,200 --> 01:01:30,200 Another way of saying this is that Caleb's 562 01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:32,200 faith is anchored in God himself. 563 01:01:32,200 --> 01:01:34,200 Right, so as a result, Caleb's 564 01:01:34,200 --> 01:01:36,200 faith doesn't float. It doesn't 565 01:01:36,200 --> 01:01:38,200 waver. If our faith is 566 01:01:38,200 --> 01:01:40,200 based upon our strength 567 01:01:40,200 --> 01:01:42,200 or our abilities or our enthusiasm, 568 01:01:42,200 --> 01:01:44,200 it's going to be all over the place. 569 01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:46,200 But if our faith is based 570 01:01:46,200 --> 01:01:48,200 in God, right, it's anchored 571 01:01:48,200 --> 01:01:50,200 to something that is solid. 572 01:01:50,200 --> 01:01:52,200 One of the things that 573 01:01:52,200 --> 01:01:54,200 really caused my head to explode 574 01:01:54,200 --> 01:01:56,200 as a kid. Down the street from one 575 01:01:56,200 --> 01:01:58,200 of the houses Cody lived in growing up, there's 576 01:01:58,200 --> 01:02:00,200 a little lake or a pond 577 01:02:00,200 --> 01:02:02,200 and Cody can probably tell you more about 578 01:02:02,200 --> 01:02:04,200 it, but there's a little floating island 579 01:02:04,200 --> 01:02:06,200 out there. And I always thought that was 580 01:02:06,200 --> 01:02:08,200 cool, and I actually went back and read about it a little 581 01:02:08,200 --> 01:02:10,200 this week. First newspaper article 582 01:02:10,200 --> 01:02:12,200 about it was written back in 583 01:02:12,200 --> 01:02:14,200 the 1890s. A guy from California 584 01:02:14,200 --> 01:02:16,200 came all the way to Vermont to see 585 01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:18,200 this remarkable thing. This island 586 01:02:18,200 --> 01:02:20,200 kind of moved around, the trees acted 587 01:02:20,200 --> 01:02:22,200 as a sail where it went, and eventually 588 01:02:22,200 --> 01:02:24,200 what they had to do is they had to anchor 589 01:02:24,200 --> 01:02:26,200 that island down. 590 01:02:26,200 --> 01:02:28,200 You have this picture of our faith that 591 01:02:28,200 --> 01:02:30,200 if we are not anchored, we're going to kind of float. 592 01:02:30,200 --> 01:02:32,200 Paul says it in Ephesians, 593 01:02:32,200 --> 01:02:34,200 tossed here and there by the waves 594 01:02:34,200 --> 01:02:36,200 rather than anchored in 595 01:02:36,200 --> 01:02:38,200 the truth. You see, the power 596 01:02:38,200 --> 01:02:40,200 of Caleb's faith 597 01:02:40,200 --> 01:02:42,200 is not 598 01:02:42,200 --> 01:02:44,200 Caleb. 599 01:02:44,200 --> 01:02:46,200 The power of Caleb's faith 600 01:02:46,200 --> 01:02:48,200 is that he has anchored 601 01:02:48,200 --> 01:02:50,200 himself to the almighty 602 01:02:50,200 --> 01:02:52,200 God. And as a result 603 01:02:52,200 --> 01:02:54,200 of that, Caleb knows what God has done 604 01:02:54,200 --> 01:02:56,200 in the past. He's obedient 605 01:02:56,200 --> 01:02:58,200 in the present, and he looks forward to the future 606 01:02:58,200 --> 01:03:00,200 in hope. 607 01:03:00,200 --> 01:03:02,200 And maybe our objection this morning 608 01:03:02,200 --> 01:03:04,200 is that I don't have a very 609 01:03:04,200 --> 01:03:06,200 big faith. 610 01:03:06,200 --> 01:03:08,200 I will say this, you have a very big God. 611 01:03:08,200 --> 01:03:10,200 Listen to what Jesus says. 612 01:03:10,200 --> 01:03:12,200 The apostles in Luke 17 613 01:03:12,200 --> 01:03:14,200 come to Jesus, and they make our faith bigger. 614 01:03:14,200 --> 01:03:16,200 And Jesus says this, 615 01:03:16,200 --> 01:03:18,200 "If you had faith the size 616 01:03:18,200 --> 01:03:20,200 of a mustard seed." 617 01:03:20,200 --> 01:03:22,200 You could say to this mulberry tree, 618 01:03:22,200 --> 01:03:24,200 "Be uprooted and planted in the sea, 619 01:03:24,200 --> 01:03:26,200 and it would obey you." 620 01:03:26,200 --> 01:03:28,200 And what Jesus says 621 01:03:28,200 --> 01:03:30,200 is that you don't need a big faith, 622 01:03:30,200 --> 01:03:32,200 you need a big God. 623 01:03:32,200 --> 01:03:34,200 Right? In the ancient world, 624 01:03:34,200 --> 01:03:36,200 the mustard seed was one of the tiniest. 625 01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:38,200 And Jesus says it's not 626 01:03:38,200 --> 01:03:40,200 the size 627 01:03:40,200 --> 01:03:42,200 of your faith. It's the size of the God 628 01:03:42,200 --> 01:03:44,200 in whom your faith is placed. 629 01:03:44,200 --> 01:03:46,200 If you remember the father 630 01:03:46,200 --> 01:03:48,200 with the son, 631 01:03:48,200 --> 01:03:50,200 who has been demon possessed, 632 01:03:50,200 --> 01:03:52,200 and he comes to Jesus and he cries out, 633 01:03:52,200 --> 01:03:54,200 Jesus says, "I can heal him if you have faith." 634 01:03:54,200 --> 01:03:56,200 And he prays, what does he say? 635 01:03:56,200 --> 01:03:58,200 "Increase my faith. Help my unbelief." 636 01:03:58,200 --> 01:04:00,200 Right? We have a God 637 01:04:00,200 --> 01:04:02,200 who is strong, 638 01:04:02,200 --> 01:04:04,200 and who is righteous, 639 01:04:04,200 --> 01:04:06,200 and who is good, and who loves us. 640 01:04:06,200 --> 01:04:08,200 And the object 641 01:04:08,200 --> 01:04:10,200 of Caleb's faith is not Caleb, 642 01:04:10,200 --> 01:04:12,200 but it's the goodness 643 01:04:12,200 --> 01:04:14,200 of God. 644 01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:16,200 There also is in this text 645 01:04:16,200 --> 01:04:18,200 an invitation to us. 646 01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:20,200 And you may have noticed this as Brent was reading 647 01:04:20,200 --> 01:04:22,200 and it's repeated several times here 648 01:04:22,200 --> 01:04:24,200 and in the book of Numbers. We hear this, 649 01:04:24,200 --> 01:04:26,200 "Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, 650 01:04:26,200 --> 01:04:28,200 the Kenizzite." 651 01:04:28,200 --> 01:04:30,200 When you hear things like that, 652 01:04:30,200 --> 01:04:32,200 it's like, well, he's from the tribe of Judah. 653 01:04:32,200 --> 01:04:34,200 What's a Kenizzite? 654 01:04:34,200 --> 01:04:36,200 We find that the Kenizzites were a people 655 01:04:36,200 --> 01:04:38,200 who lived in the land 656 01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:40,200 about the same time as Abraham. 657 01:04:40,200 --> 01:04:42,200 They were Canaanites. 658 01:04:42,200 --> 01:04:44,200 It's likely that Caleb's dad 659 01:04:44,200 --> 01:04:46,200 at some point, maybe in Egypt, 660 01:04:46,200 --> 01:04:48,200 maybe some came to 661 01:04:48,200 --> 01:04:50,200 Egypt 662 01:04:50,200 --> 01:04:52,200 with Jacob and his family 663 01:04:52,200 --> 01:04:54,200 and they prospered in Egypt as well. 664 01:04:54,200 --> 01:04:56,200 Whatever reason, Caleb's dad 665 01:04:56,200 --> 01:04:58,200 is a Kenizzite, 666 01:04:58,200 --> 01:05:00,200 becomes a proselyte, likely, 667 01:05:00,200 --> 01:05:02,200 of the Jewish faith, 668 01:05:02,200 --> 01:05:04,200 and marries a daughter 669 01:05:04,200 --> 01:05:06,200 to the Jewish people. 670 01:05:06,200 --> 01:05:08,200 Caleb's family, his dad, 671 01:05:08,200 --> 01:05:10,200 is an outsider to the Jewish people. 672 01:05:10,200 --> 01:05:12,200 He's not a Jewish guy 673 01:05:12,200 --> 01:05:14,200 who can trace his lineage back 674 01:05:14,200 --> 01:05:16,200 through his father, generation after generation. 675 01:05:16,200 --> 01:05:18,200 His father is an outsider 676 01:05:18,200 --> 01:05:20,200 who marries into this family. 677 01:05:20,200 --> 01:05:22,200 And here is Caleb 678 01:05:22,200 --> 01:05:24,200 who, in many Jewish eyes, 679 01:05:24,200 --> 01:05:26,200 would be an outsider, 680 01:05:26,200 --> 01:05:28,200 but righteous, holy, trusting God. 681 01:05:28,200 --> 01:05:30,200 And in the notable 682 01:05:30,200 --> 01:05:32,200 descendants of the tribe of Judah 683 01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:34,200 before, you have a list 684 01:05:34,200 --> 01:05:36,200 of Caleb, the son of 685 01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:38,200 Japuna. 686 01:05:38,200 --> 01:05:40,200 You have this picture in this that God 687 01:05:40,200 --> 01:05:42,200 loves and welcomes those who are outside. 688 01:05:42,200 --> 01:05:44,200 In the same way today, 689 01:05:44,200 --> 01:05:46,200 God invites the outsiders into 690 01:05:46,200 --> 01:05:48,200 his family. 691 01:05:48,200 --> 01:05:50,200 As we look at Caleb's faith, 692 01:05:50,200 --> 01:05:52,200 we see this wholly 693 01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:54,200 devoted 694 01:05:54,200 --> 01:05:56,200 picture. 695 01:05:56,200 --> 01:05:58,200 A faith that is strong 696 01:05:58,200 --> 01:06:00,200 and active, and it runs deep 697 01:06:00,200 --> 01:06:02,200 and it's patient. 698 01:06:02,200 --> 01:06:04,200 But it's a faith not based upon 699 01:06:04,200 --> 01:06:06,200 the strength of Caleb. It's based upon 700 01:06:06,200 --> 01:06:08,200 the strength of God. 701 01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:10,200 And so as we 702 01:06:10,200 --> 01:06:12,200 look at Caleb's faith, it calls us, I think, 703 01:06:12,200 --> 01:06:14,200 to look at our faith and 704 01:06:14,200 --> 01:06:16,200 to say, "Am I basing my 705 01:06:16,200 --> 01:06:18,200 faith and my life upon 706 01:06:18,200 --> 01:06:20,200 myself, my feelings, my emotions, my 707 01:06:20,200 --> 01:06:22,200 actions, my goodness, or 708 01:06:22,200 --> 01:06:24,200 am I anchoring myself to the 709 01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:26,200 rock that is Christ, 710 01:06:26,200 --> 01:06:28,200 the one who takes weak and broken people 711 01:06:28,200 --> 01:06:30,200 them strong, who takes that 712 01:06:30,200 --> 01:06:32,200 mustard seed and does amazing 713 01:06:32,200 --> 01:06:34,200 things, who takes the outsider 714 01:06:34,200 --> 01:06:36,200 and brings them into the family." 715 01:06:36,200 --> 01:06:38,200 Right? This text for us 716 01:06:38,200 --> 01:06:40,200 is a challenge, 717 01:06:40,200 --> 01:06:42,200 it's encouragement, 718 01:06:42,200 --> 01:06:44,200 and it is a hope in the goodness 719 01:06:44,200 --> 01:06:46,200 of God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, 720 01:06:46,200 --> 01:06:48,200 thank you for Jesus and for grace. 721 01:06:48,200 --> 01:06:50,200 Anchor our faith to you. 722 01:06:50,200 --> 01:06:52,200 Help us to see 723 01:06:52,200 --> 01:06:54,200 that it's 724 01:06:54,200 --> 01:06:56,200 not about our strength or our abilities, 725 01:06:56,200 --> 01:06:58,200 it's about you and your goodness. 726 01:06:58,200 --> 01:07:00,200 It's not about our great faith, 727 01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:02,200 but it's about the great God 728 01:07:02,200 --> 01:07:04,200 that our faith is anchored to. 729 01:07:04,200 --> 01:07:06,200 So we pray, like the man 730 01:07:06,200 --> 01:07:08,200 in the New Testament, that you would help our 731 01:07:08,200 --> 01:07:10,200 unbelief, that you would eliminate 732 01:07:10,200 --> 01:07:12,200 those distractions, that you would help us 733 01:07:12,200 --> 01:07:14,200 to trust in you. 734 01:07:14,200 --> 01:07:18,200 It's in your Son's name we pray. Amen. 735 01:07:18,200 --> 01:07:20,200 We're going to 736 01:07:20,200 --> 01:07:22,200 stand, and we are 737 01:07:22,200 --> 01:07:24,200 going to sing 738 01:07:24,200 --> 01:07:26,200 Build My Life 739 01:07:26,200 --> 01:07:28,200 as we talked about how Caleb has 740 01:07:28,200 --> 01:07:30,200 wholly devoted his life. We're going to 741 01:07:30,200 --> 01:07:32,200 sing sort of that prayer 742 01:07:32,200 --> 01:07:34,200 for us as well. So let's stand and sing. 743 01:07:34,200 --> 01:07:52,200 Worthy of every song 744 01:07:52,200 --> 01:07:54,200 we could ever sing. 745 01:07:54,200 --> 01:07:58,200 Worthy of all the praise 746 01:07:58,200 --> 01:08:00,200 we could ever bring. 747 01:08:00,200 --> 01:08:04,200 Worthy of every breath 748 01:08:04,200 --> 01:08:06,200 we could ever breathe. 749 01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:08,200 We live for you. 750 01:08:08,200 --> 01:08:18,200 Jesus, the name above 751 01:08:18,200 --> 01:08:20,200 every other name. 752 01:08:20,200 --> 01:08:24,200 Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. 753 01:08:24,200 --> 01:08:26,200 Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. 754 01:08:26,200 --> 01:08:30,200 Worthy of every breath 755 01:08:30,200 --> 01:08:32,200 we could ever breathe. 756 01:08:32,200 --> 01:08:34,200 We live for you. 757 01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:36,200 Oh, we live for you. 758 01:08:36,200 --> 01:08:40,200 Holy, there is no one like you. 759 01:08:40,200 --> 01:08:42,200 There is none beside you. 760 01:08:42,200 --> 01:08:44,200 Open up your eyes. 761 01:08:44,200 --> 01:08:46,200 There is no one like you. 762 01:08:46,200 --> 01:08:48,200 There is none beside you. 763 01:08:48,200 --> 01:08:52,200 Open up my eyes in wonder 764 01:08:52,200 --> 01:08:54,200 And show me 765 01:08:54,200 --> 01:08:56,200 Who you are 766 01:08:56,200 --> 01:08:58,200 And fill me 767 01:08:58,200 --> 01:09:00,200 With your heart 768 01:09:00,200 --> 01:09:02,200 And me 769 01:09:02,200 --> 01:09:04,200 And your love 770 01:09:04,200 --> 01:09:08,200 To those around me 771 01:09:08,200 --> 01:09:10,200 Worthy of every song 772 01:09:10,200 --> 01:09:12,200 We could ever sing 773 01:09:12,200 --> 01:09:16,200 Worthy of all the praise 774 01:09:16,200 --> 01:09:18,200 We could ever bring 775 01:09:18,200 --> 01:09:20,200 Worthy of every breath 776 01:09:20,200 --> 01:09:22,200 We could ever breathe 777 01:09:22,200 --> 01:09:24,200 Worthy of every breath 778 01:09:24,200 --> 01:09:26,200 We could ever breathe 779 01:09:26,200 --> 01:09:28,200 We live for you 780 01:09:28,200 --> 01:09:36,200 Jesus, the name above 781 01:09:36,200 --> 01:09:38,200 Every other name 782 01:09:38,200 --> 01:09:40,200 Jesus, the only one 783 01:09:40,200 --> 01:09:42,200 Who could ever save 784 01:09:42,200 --> 01:09:44,200 Jesus, the only one 785 01:09:44,200 --> 01:09:46,200 We could ever save 786 01:09:46,200 --> 01:09:50,200 Worthy of every breath 787 01:09:50,200 --> 01:09:52,200 We could ever breathe 788 01:09:52,200 --> 01:09:54,200 We live for you 789 01:09:54,200 --> 01:09:56,200 Oh, we live for you 790 01:09:56,200 --> 01:10:04,200 Holy, there is no one like you 791 01:10:04,200 --> 01:10:08,200 There is none beside you 792 01:10:08,200 --> 01:10:10,200 Open up my eyes 793 01:10:10,200 --> 01:10:12,200 In wonder 794 01:10:12,200 --> 01:10:14,200 And show 795 01:10:14,200 --> 01:10:16,200 Who you are 796 01:10:16,200 --> 01:10:18,200 And fill me 797 01:10:18,200 --> 01:10:20,200 With your heart 798 01:10:20,200 --> 01:10:22,200 And lead me 799 01:10:22,200 --> 01:10:24,200 In your love 800 01:10:24,200 --> 01:10:26,200 To those around me 801 01:10:26,200 --> 01:10:30,200 I will build my life 802 01:10:30,200 --> 01:10:34,200 Upon your love 803 01:10:34,200 --> 01:10:38,200 It is a firm foundation 804 01:10:38,200 --> 01:10:42,200 I will put my trust 805 01:10:42,200 --> 01:10:46,200 In you alone 806 01:10:46,200 --> 01:10:52,200 And I will not be shaken 807 01:10:52,200 --> 01:10:54,200 Holy 808 01:10:54,200 --> 01:10:56,200 There is no one like you 809 01:10:56,200 --> 01:11:00,200 There is none beside you 810 01:11:00,200 --> 01:11:02,200 Open up my eyes 811 01:11:02,200 --> 01:11:04,200 In wonder 812 01:11:04,200 --> 01:11:06,200 And show me 813 01:11:06,200 --> 01:11:08,200 Who you are 814 01:11:08,200 --> 01:11:10,200 And fill me 815 01:11:10,200 --> 01:11:12,200 With your heart 816 01:11:12,200 --> 01:11:14,200 And lead me 817 01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:16,200 In your love 818 01:11:16,200 --> 01:11:20,200 To those around me 819 01:11:20,200 --> 01:11:26,200 I am thankful 820 01:11:26,200 --> 01:11:28,200 That you are here this morning. We're also thankful 821 01:11:28,200 --> 01:11:32,200 To those who have joined us online this morning. 822 01:11:32,200 --> 01:11:34,200 Coming up this Wednesday, we're gonna 823 01:11:34,200 --> 01:11:36,200 Go for, I guess it would be like 824 01:11:36,200 --> 01:11:38,200 Try number three 825 01:11:38,200 --> 01:11:40,200 To begin the book of James. We tried last 826 01:11:40,200 --> 01:11:42,200 Fall. We're trying again 827 01:11:42,200 --> 01:11:44,200 Last week, and with illness, we're going to try again 828 01:11:44,200 --> 01:11:46,200 This week. I am excited 829 01:11:46,200 --> 01:11:48,200 To begin the book of James. And so 830 01:11:48,200 --> 01:11:50,200 There is in the back 831 01:11:50,200 --> 01:11:52,200 On the table with the water 832 01:11:52,200 --> 01:11:54,200 And the snacks, there is a little bit 833 01:11:54,200 --> 01:11:56,200 Of an introduction 834 01:11:56,200 --> 01:11:58,200 To the book of James, if you would like 835 01:11:58,200 --> 01:12:00,200 To sort of read through. We're gonna be 836 01:12:00,200 --> 01:12:02,200 Primarily in 837 01:12:02,200 --> 01:12:04,200 Verse 1 838 01:12:04,200 --> 01:12:06,200 Talking about this unique relationship 839 01:12:06,200 --> 01:12:08,200 That James has 840 01:12:08,200 --> 01:12:10,200 With Jesus, where he's both 841 01:12:10,200 --> 01:12:12,200 A brother and a servant 842 01:12:12,200 --> 01:12:14,200 So I would encourage you to come and join us 843 01:12:14,200 --> 01:12:16,200 We're gonna spend some time discussing 844 01:12:16,200 --> 01:12:18,200 Watch about a 20 minute video 845 01:12:18,200 --> 01:12:20,200 And then we'll spend some more time discussing 846 01:12:20,200 --> 01:12:22,200 It's been encouraging 847 01:12:22,200 --> 01:12:24,200 Our Wednesday evening 848 01:12:24,200 --> 01:12:26,200 Bible study, and it's good to be 849 01:12:26,200 --> 01:12:28,200 With our brothers and sisters in Christ 850 01:12:28,200 --> 01:12:30,200 Wednesday night at 7 p.m. also coming up 851 01:12:30,200 --> 01:12:32,200 Saturday, January 28 852 01:12:32,200 --> 01:12:34,200 Put this on your calendar 853 01:12:34,200 --> 01:12:36,200 It will remind you for a couple more weeks 854 01:12:36,200 --> 01:12:38,200 Men are getting together for breakfast 855 01:12:38,200 --> 01:12:40,200 And a devotional 856 01:12:40,200 --> 01:12:42,200 Stu's going to be 857 01:12:42,200 --> 01:12:44,200 Helping and sort of leading and taking care 858 01:12:44,200 --> 01:12:46,200 Of that, and so we are 859 01:12:46,200 --> 01:12:48,200 Thankful for that. I'm gonna go ahead and pray 860 01:12:48,200 --> 01:12:50,200 And then I'll read a verse 861 01:12:50,200 --> 01:12:52,200 And we'll sing the doxology 862 01:12:52,200 --> 01:12:54,200 Father in heaven, I thank you 863 01:12:54,200 --> 01:12:56,200 For Jesus and for grace 864 01:12:56,200 --> 01:12:58,200 Thank you for your people and your church 865 01:12:58,200 --> 01:13:00,200 I thank you for how you bless us 866 01:13:00,200 --> 01:13:02,200 And protect us. I ask that we 867 01:13:02,200 --> 01:13:04,200 Would be a people wholly devoted to you 868 01:13:04,200 --> 01:13:06,200 In Jesus name we pray 869 01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:08,200 Amen. At the end 870 01:13:08,200 --> 01:13:10,200 Of Matthew's Gospel 871 01:13:10,200 --> 01:13:12,200 And we're going to read just in a few moments 872 01:13:12,200 --> 01:13:14,200 The very last words of Matthew's Gospel 873 01:13:14,200 --> 01:13:16,200 Jesus gives a commission 874 01:13:16,200 --> 01:13:18,200 To his disciples as he is about 875 01:13:18,200 --> 01:13:20,200 To ascend back into heaven 876 01:13:20,200 --> 01:13:22,200 A commission to go 877 01:13:22,200 --> 01:13:24,200 And to teach and to baptize 878 01:13:24,200 --> 01:13:26,200 Continue to teach and I imagine 879 01:13:26,200 --> 01:13:28,200 If the disciples were honest 880 01:13:28,200 --> 01:13:30,200 About their feelings, they were a little nervous 881 01:13:30,200 --> 01:13:32,200 Jesus was about to leave 882 01:13:32,200 --> 01:13:34,200 And he makes this promise to them 883 01:13:34,200 --> 01:13:36,200 And this promise to us as well 884 01:13:36,200 --> 01:13:38,200 For those who obey him 885 01:13:38,200 --> 01:13:40,200 And behold, I am with you always 886 01:13:40,200 --> 01:13:42,200 To the end of the age 887 01:13:42,200 --> 01:13:56,200 Praise God from whom all blessings flow 888 01:13:56,200 --> 01:14:01,200 Praise him all creatures here below 889 01:14:01,200 --> 01:14:07,200 Praise him above ye heavenly hosts 890 01:14:07,200 --> 01:14:12,200 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 891 01:14:37,200 --> 01:15:07,180 God, Son, and Holy Ghost 892 01:15:07,200 --> 01:15:37,180 God, Son, Holy Ghost 893 01:15:37,200 --> 01:16:07,180 God, Son, Holy Ghost 894 01:16:07,200 --> 01:16:37,180 God, Son, Holy Ghost 895 01:26:07,200 --> 01:26:37,180 Thank you.