1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,240 Hey, it's good to see you guys today. 2 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:02,720 If I don't know you, my name is Brandon. 3 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,200 I get to serve as the lead pastor here. 4 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,920 And St. City Chapel is a new church here 5 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,280 in the heart of Tempe. We are about 9 months old and we 6 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,160 have seen God at work here. We are just so ecstatic about 7 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,760 who he is and what he has done. And we have seen him move and 8 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,880 transform many, just even our short nine months. 9 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,000 And we have a vision to see God be at work through his gospel, 10 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,720 to have a movement for the city of Tempe, for the campus of ASU, 11 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,120 and for the fame of none other than Jesus Christ. 12 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:32,560 Amen. Amen. 13 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,400 And while we're going to work toward that end and pray that 14 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,800 that reality would be in our sights, we are on a mission 15 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,160 hoping that we would gather ordinary people to take their 16 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,720 next step with the God who is extraordinary. 17 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:47,840 He is extraordinary. We just sung so much about why 18 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,800 he's extraordinary. There's thousands upon thousands 19 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,800 of reasons that our hearts could muster up that could confess how 20 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,640 spectacular God is. And each and every Sunday we 21 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,000 gather to worship him. So that you might take steps, 22 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,560 that your friends might take steps, so your neighbors might 23 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,640 take steps with that God. And another way of saying that 24 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,080 is that we are here to help you fully follow God. 25 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,600 Not partially, not a little bit follow God, but like in in 26 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,560 totality that you would be a person who fully follows God. 27 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,760 That's what a disciple of Jesus is. 28 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,560 It's somebody who fully follows God across all spectrums of 29 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,480 their life. This past week, I was getting a 30 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,600 lunch with a friend and we were just catching up about what it's 31 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,680 like to be the parents of young kids, to be husbands young in 32 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,080 our marriage still, and to work and to have friendships and to 33 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,480 be a part of our original home of origin still in some way, 34 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,200 shape or form. We were just navigating this. 35 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,840 And he just confessed to me. He said, hey, man, in this 36 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,800 season, I realized that I have some peace in my life, but not 37 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,800 total peace. That he has a sense of 38 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,160 dissatisfaction, of disruption or disillusionment in his heart 39 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,600 because what he said was I don't feel total peace, but only some 40 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,880 peace because I was only following Jesus in some areas of 41 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:18,080 my life. That as he was navigating being 42 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,360 a husband or a father or an employee, what he realizes there 43 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,120 was areas that he had pulled God out of the out of the equation. 44 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,840 That he was fully following God, perhaps as a husband but not as 45 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,400 a father. That at times he would change 46 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,840 his attention and his focus to following God as a father. 47 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,160 And then he would not measure up in the workplace. 48 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,360 And this tension I'm sure you feel too, this idea and this 49 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,280 concept of man. There's so much areas of my 50 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,280 life, so much identities that I carry as a friend or as a 51 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:53,800 student or as a mother or father or grandparent, that fully 52 00:02:53,800 --> 00:03:01,160 following God feels impossible. It feels like that's not 53 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,360 something that can be said of somebody like us. 54 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,760 Thankfully, we do have Jesus that followed God fully and 55 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,840 totally and perfectly, who is our forerunner in the faith, who 56 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,520 is the founder and perfector of it. 57 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:17,480 We have Jesus as our substitute for us on the cross because we 58 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,240 will not follow him perfectly. But listen to me, Fully 59 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,840 following God is actually an invitation to you and I that 60 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,000 there is a way that on our tombstone or as our reputation 61 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,400 that we can be known as a person who fully follows God. 62 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,880 It one way to think about this is in 16th and 17th century 63 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:41,320 there was this group of men called the Puritans. 64 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:42,680 Anybody heard of the Puritans before? 65 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,480 If you've read them, that means you like to read boring stuff 66 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:49,800 more than likely. And and not that the Puritans in 67 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,400 and of themselves are boring, but they have the reputation as 68 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,640 being boring that when you read them, they, they say big words 69 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,040 and they, they write books that are very dense or it perhaps 70 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,400 even like very thick. And you're like, that's a book 71 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,480 that I won't read just because it's very thick. 72 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,640 No thank you. But these guys, they were men, 73 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,520 regular men, just like us. And they were actually known for 74 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,240 their total devotion, for their full followership of Jesus. 75 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,320 And there's four areas, more spaces before we get into the 76 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,680 text today that I just want to highlight for you that was 77 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:22,400 present in them. I think you'll be present in US 78 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,120 and fully following Jesus. The first space that you might 79 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,040 be compelled to grow in and fully following God is 80 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,800 considering yourself a thinker. Here's what I mean by that. 81 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,000 I mean that fully following God isn't just in your actions, it's 82 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:42,000 in your thoughts that there's a way to go about your life, 83 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:43,840 there's a way to go about your week. 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,400 That God is something that you dwell on. 85 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,480 You meditate on him, you think about his words deeply. 86 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,600 And these men set aside time each and every week to focus on, 87 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,600 to fixate upon, to obsess about God. 88 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,560 I think some of us can grow and being a thinker about God this 89 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,640 week, some of us can grow and being a worshiper for from him 90 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:10,720 and through him and to him are all things. 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,080 That there is a God out there who loves you, who died on a 92 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,000 cross for you, who rose over death for you. 93 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,000 And that when you think about who God is, guess what? 94 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,800 It's going to pull worship out of your heart. 95 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,600 It's going to pull affection and worthiness that you feel towards 96 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,080 God. That the worshipper is somebody 97 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,960 who goes about even their Monday morning thinking about how 98 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,600 worthy God is of worship and they want to give him work. 99 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,520 They want to give him value. It's a God who is holy and who 100 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,600 hates sin and judges it. He is a God who rules and 101 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,880 speaks. He is the God who in whom all 102 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,320 reality lives and moves and exists. 103 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,960 He is the God who's incomprehensible love for us 104 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,520 died for us. That while we are still sinners, 105 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:02,800 that some of us today need to move in worship of God, living 106 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,960 unto him. Some of us need to grow in being 107 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,320 a hopper. Now I don't really feel like 108 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,600 that's an actual word, but it works. 109 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,640 Hopers are people here on planet earth. 110 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:15,880 Guess what? We live in a fallen world with 111 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,400 suffering, with darkness. We live in a fallen existence 112 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,600 where we feel the weight of Jesus not coming back to make 113 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,760 all things right yet. And one of the ways we can grow 114 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:34,080 and fully following God this week is being a better hoper in 115 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,920 his return. More on that soon. 116 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,480 Finally, another space to grow in that you can be thinking 117 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,920 about fully following Jesus isn't just in your thoughts, 118 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,160 isn't just your emotions of worship, isn't in just your 119 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,400 dreams and anticipations of hope, but also finally, this one 120 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:55,840 fourth one is being a warrior that your whole life could be 121 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,000 accounted as warfare against the things God is against, sin, 122 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:07,120 Satan, death. That some of us, what we're 123 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:12,480 lacking is a warfare mentality that though we are at peace with 124 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,960 God, we are not on peacetime on earth and we need to bring a 125 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:20,600 battle mode into our brains. And Joshua helps us see that. 126 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,360 Let me give you this definition of what I mean by fully 127 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,240 following God in these areas. Fully following God means this, 128 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,040 that you stop living halfway and start obeying Him completely. 129 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:35,640 You stop living halfway. It's not just like going up a 130 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,400 little bit, it's not coming up short, but you're saying, hey, 131 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,920 I'm going to aggressively and totally give God my total 132 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:49,520 devotion, my complete adoration, my thoughts, my heart, my hands. 133 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,800 I'm giving them unto God because I want to be a person who 134 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,760 doesn't live halfway, but obeys them completely in every 135 00:07:55,760 --> 00:08:00,640 compartment of my life. It is the idea that we forsake 136 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:07,800 the hell of half heartedness and we embrace the gift of heaven, 137 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:13,600 of wholesale wholeheartedness. We're not divided in our 138 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:21,880 attention, not separated in our worship, but we are wholesale 139 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,360 obedient unto God. And I think we're going to 140 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,840 discover in Joshua this huge chunk we're going to walk 141 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,160 through today is this big idea. Let me give it to you in a 142 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,120 sentence. This, these 7 chapters I think 143 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,559 can be summarized like this is that if you want to experience 144 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,960 all God has for you, you have to fully follow him. 145 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:48,320 You have to fully follow him, not just on Sunday mornings from 146 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:51,720 10:50, not just on Tuesday night, small group, not just on 147 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:59,560 your quiet time, but 24/7, 365 in every area of our life are 148 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:03,320 all about how can I fully follow Jesus in this moment? 149 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,200 Joshua is a book all about conquest. 150 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,440 It's about the people of God, the people of Israel moving from 151 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,160 exile, slavery, from Egypt through the wilderness 40 years 152 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,680 now into moving into this land called Canaan in the Middle 153 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,640 East. They're going from east to West 154 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,560 trying to cross the Jordan River into this land God had promised 155 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:22,960 them. And we've been marching through 156 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,160 this book chapter by chapter, learning what God has for us on 157 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,400 the other side of it, hundreds and upon hundreds of years 158 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,040 later. Like what does Joshua mean for 159 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:33,320 us? Because this is an old story, 160 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,720 but it's a relevant story. And I think the relevant truth 161 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,360 that is true for the Israelites here who would have been present 162 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,440 in the story, but also true for us, it would be true for people 163 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,960 across the world today, is that if we want to experience all God 164 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,720 has for us, we have to fully follow him. 165 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,000 So where is it we must fully follow God? 166 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,080 Well, let's look at the text to discover together where we must 167 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,600 fully follow God. We're in Joshua chapter 14, the 168 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,320 big bold 14 in your Bible. If you don't have a Bible, 169 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,640 there's one on the seat nearby. You can grab it, look at the 170 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,680 table of contents, find the page for yourself, and you can keep 171 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:08,800 it if you need it. But it's also on the screens. 172 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,920 Joshua chapter 14 verse one says this. 173 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:17,520 These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in 174 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,080 the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua 175 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,720 the son of Nun and the heads of the father's houses of the 176 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,000 tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. 177 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,960 Their inheritance was by law, just as the Lord had commanded 178 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:39,080 by the hand of Moses for the 9 1/2 tribes. 179 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:41,560 Here's what that means for us. Let's just stop there for a 180 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,000 second. Moses had given a couple of 181 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:45,680 tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. 182 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,320 He gave them their land. And now Joshua's finishing the 183 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,400 job of saying, hey, there's some tribes of Israel. 184 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,640 There's 12 in total that hey, they are still owed their 185 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,640 allotment, their portion of the promised land. 186 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,480 And so Joshua and this priest, over the next 7 chapters are 187 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,240 about to give the people of Israel the land that they were 188 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,600 promised, that the whole book of Joshua is the reality that not 189 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:11,160 even one of God's promises has ever failed, including the exact 190 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,360 land that these tribes are going to receive. 191 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,360 So Joshua is going to do just as God commanded. 192 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,840 He's going to do this with this priest, and they're going to 193 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:21,520 give to the people of Israel that which they are owed. 194 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,280 Now jump down to verse 6. Then the people of Judah came to 195 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:31,360 Joshua, Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jefuna, and the Kennesite 196 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,440 said to him, You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of 197 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,520 God, and Kadesh Barnea, concerning you and me. 198 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,480 I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord, sent me 199 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,320 from the Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. 200 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,680 And I brought him word again, as it was in my heart. 201 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:58,640 But my brothers who went up with me, made the heart of the people 202 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:09,840 melt, underline this phrase. Yet I holy followed the Lord my 203 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,360 God. Let's stop there. 204 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,400 Where? Where is it that we must fully 205 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:16,360 follow God? First? 206 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:17,960 It's this. Jot this down if you'd like to 207 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,840 take notes. Fully follow God. 208 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:26,160 When fear tells you to retreat fully holy follow God like the 209 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:31,120 example Caleb has given to us. When fear tells you retreat, let 210 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,120 me explain who Caleb is for you. In case you're new to the Bible, 211 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,000 I I know that some of you are have not studied the Old 212 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,960 Testament at length and so you're a little lost right now. 213 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,680 So let me locate us. In the story of Scripture, Caleb 214 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:46,920 is one of the two spies originally sent by Moses 45 215 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,920 years earlier. Moses was the leader of Israel 216 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,600 out of Egypt through the wilderness. 217 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,040 He was their leader, and before they went to the wilderness, 218 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,680 Moses sent 12 spies to go spy out this land that they're about 219 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,200 to give. Caleb and Joshua, the title 220 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,680 character, and his friend Caleb were two of those 12 spies. 221 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,800 Those spies go into the land and they spy it out and they go, 222 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:17,800 guess what? We are terrified of the people 223 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,480 that they're giants. They're going to crush us. 224 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:21,960 Like to them, we're grasshoppers. 225 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,960 We're little. We can't beat them. 226 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:25,440 Even though God promised it to us. 227 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:29,440 We are terrified. But Caleb and Joshua were the 228 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:30,960 only two men who said no, no, no. 229 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,520 If God said it, he's going to do it. 230 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:34,920 We don't need to be scared of them. 231 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,600 God said we could have the land, therefore we're going to go in 232 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,120 and take it because of the other 10 spies disobedience. 233 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,520 Look back at the Bible with me. It says my brothers who went up 234 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,520 with me made the heart of the people melt. 235 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,000 So Caleb and Joshua are saying, hey, guess what? 236 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,360 No, we should go take this land 45 years ago. 237 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,280 And there's ten other men who are saying no, no, no, we should 238 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:03,360 be shaking in our boots. And the people of Israel heard 239 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,200 these other ten men, and their hearts melted with fear. 240 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,400 No, God isn't bigger than them. No, we're smaller than them. 241 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,480 Well, we can't beat them. We can't fully follow God and do 242 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:21,520 as he commanded. Yet I it says I holy follow the 243 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:28,320 Lord my God. Caleb doesn't just report of 244 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,720 what God has done. Caleb gets to experience the joy 245 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,440 of not only surviving the wilderness but also seeing the 246 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,360 promised land. Moses doesn't get to see this 247 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:37,640 because he doesn't wholly follow God. 248 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,320 Caleb and Josh were the only two people from that era of Israel 249 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,040 who get to make it into the promised land. 250 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,160 A whole generation dies out over 40 years in the desert. 251 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,280 Now we have 5 years of battle and Caleb is an old man. 252 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:55,360 He's 85 at this point and he still has God's ear, God's words 253 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,880 ringing in his ears. God says to Moses in Numbers 254 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,200 chapter 14. This is where you can read the 255 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,240 story, by the way, if you want to go explore it for yourself. 256 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,120 Numbers 14 is the cross reference. 257 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,600 But God says to Moses about Caleb. 258 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:13,760 He says this man has a different spirit and he wholly follows me 259 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,280 45 years. He hung on to those words about 260 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:27,840 who God said he was. He never forgot what God said 261 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,480 about him and that's what helped him fully follow God, even when 262 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,440 fear told him and others to retreat. 263 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,760 There's a documentary out there called 100 Foot Wave. 264 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,360 Any of you've seen it before? Nobody. 265 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:42,880 OK, so I feel a lot explained to you that's helpful. 266 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,440 It's 100 foot wave, so it's pretty self-explanatory. 267 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,120 There's a spot in Portugal where people go surfing. 268 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:49,840 It's got the biggest waves in the world. 269 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,960 And these surfers when they are out there, they they have to 270 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,840 commit to a wave that size. They have all kinds of like ski 271 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,040 doos and like motor boats available for them. 272 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:03,280 Because the wave, it gets literally the size of 100 feet 273 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,160 tall. That is a big building. 274 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,040 You all that's like three of these suckers stacked on top of 275 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,400 each other. But it's a wave of water. 276 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:13,440 Some people have a death wish, I've heard. 277 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,280 But here's the thing, When you commit to a wave that size, you 278 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:21,200 cannot hesitate. You cannot even blink for a 279 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:23,800 moment that you have to go fully into it. 280 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,480 You have to fully commit. Otherwise you are going to be 281 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:28,400 wrecked. You're going to be tossed and 282 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:29,880 turned. You're going to be upended, 283 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,640 perhaps even drowning because you didn't commit to it because 284 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:38,760 fear told you to stop. And in Joshua 13 through 19, 285 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,880 what's going to happen is, is God's going to say over about 60 286 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,280 times actually, like, hey, this tribe received their 287 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:46,680 inheritance. This tribe received their 288 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,640 inheritance, but he's going to tell Caleb, an individual, 289 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,560 something amazing that he received his inheritance too. 290 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,640 And we meet this man Caleb, and what we learn about him is he 291 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,160 didn't hesitate even when fear told him to retreat. 292 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,920 He wholly followed God. Even everybody around him did 293 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,839 not. He said no, no, no, I don't care 294 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:09,760 what you say. I know what God has said. 295 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,000 I will not be afraid. I will be courageous, I will be 296 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,960 strong. I will look to the Lord, and I 297 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,440 will trust Him more than I trust your voices. 298 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,280 Everybody else saw giants and pulled back, but Caleb lived 299 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,440 with a conviction. Here's what God said. 300 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:35,240 We must be a people who fully follow God, who don't live 301 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,720 halfway in our obedience, but who fully follow Him. 302 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,560 Caleb's going to serve as an example for us of what it looks 303 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:50,640 like to receive the inheritance. He's going to provide for us 304 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,000 what it looks like to fully follow God even when we're 305 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,880 afraid, because there's times where we can be afraid, is there 306 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,000 not? Like in parenting, there's often 307 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,040 this moment of fear where you're like, man, how can I be 308 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,040 faithfully a parent once again this morning? 309 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,080 I don't know how to handle that bickering match. 310 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,200 I don't know how to handle this emotional meltdown. 311 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,480 I don't know how to handle the prodigal kid that is happening. 312 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,920 Listen to me, parent. Listen closely. 313 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:21,400 Fully follow God, trust him. Discipline your kids, love your 314 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:26,800 kids, disciple your kids, teach your kids, fully follow Him in 315 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,040 every area. When you're entering into a hard 316 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:34,520 conversation, has the mat the words of Matthew 18 come in your 317 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:36,680 ears? Has Jesus Sermon on the Mount 318 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,800 influenced how you go after that hard conversation with a friend 319 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,320 or a family member? Are you fully following God in 320 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,440 conflict resolution? Are you fully following God into 321 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,240 generosity that He's asked of us to be cheerful, generous, 322 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,320 sacrificial givers? Are you fully following God, or 323 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,600 are you partially or halfway following Him? 324 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,360 Are you fully following God into your discipleship roles? 325 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,800 I can imagine many of us feel fear as we step into leadership 326 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,440 or into influence of others as we're on the mission of helping 327 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,000 people take their next steps with God. 328 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,560 But listen to me, St. City, you need not be afraid. 329 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,560 If you've been invited to serve, If you've been invited to lead, 330 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,040 trust us and trust the Lord, that fully following God even 331 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,480 when you're afraid is what it looks like to be obedient. 332 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,240 And some of you today need to hear this, that what's stopping 333 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,400 you from fully following God is the idea of, hey, I don't even 334 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,640 follow him at all. I'm still discovering whether 335 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,040 he's trustworthy enough to be fully followed. 336 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,480 Hear my words this morning. There is no one more worth 337 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:44,480 following in your life than Jesus Christ. 338 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:52,800 There's no one more gentle, more loving, more kind, more wise to 339 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,920 the only wise God, to the only good God, to the only one 340 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,920 trustworthy of giving your life to. 341 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:05,600 It's Jesus, no matter where you are. 342 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,640 And you're on the spectrum this morning following him. 343 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,720 I just invite you into the wholesale, the great life, the 344 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,440 good abounding, abounding life of Christ, that you could fully 345 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,640 follow Him even when fear is hitting your life. 346 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:19,640 And it wants to tells you retreat. 347 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,240 Guess what, you can be courageous and holy. 348 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,960 Follow Him in obedience no matter where He has you. 349 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,040 We fully follow God even when fear tells us to retreat. 350 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,200 But also the second thing is what we'll see in the text that 351 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:38,040 we fully follow God when the promise is delayed. 352 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,440 We don't just fully follow who in fear tells us to retreat. 353 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,520 Caleb did that 45 years ago. Now we're in present day and 354 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,800 he's not just acknowledging what happened in his past. 355 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,400 He's like, hey, right now there's there's a little bit 356 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,680 more in my past that I want to think about. 357 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,560 And it's there was a moment for 40 years when I wandered the 358 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:59,560 desert and the promise was delayed. 359 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,440 And Caleb still followed him even in the desert, even in the 360 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,920 wilderness. He waited 40 years for this 361 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,240 inheritance. That is a long time. 362 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,040 Some of you are like, I'm very aware of how long 40 years is. 363 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,640 And some of you are like, what's 20 years, right? 364 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,880 We're we're, we're all across the age range here. 365 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:25,400 But I want you to notice something in the text. 366 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:26,760 Look back at verse 9 and 10 with me. 367 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,760 And Moses swore on that day saying, surely the land on which 368 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,200 your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you, Caleb 369 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,400 and your children forever. Because why? 370 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,040 Look at that phrase again, Because you have wholly followed 371 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,520 the Lord your God. He's going to receive the 372 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,240 inheritance. He's going to receive the the 373 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,960 promise because he gave his life fully and totally unto God. 374 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:54,800 And verse 10 and now behold, the Lord, Caleb says has kept me 375 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,360 alive. Who kept Caleb alive? 376 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,920 The Lord. Who does he give the credit to 377 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:09,480 that He experienced the promise? The Lord, Who does he give the 378 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,000 attribution to that He gets the gift of the inheritance? 379 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,800 God, because the Lord kept him alive, just as he said. 380 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,280 These 45 years since the time that the Lord spoke this to 381 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,120 Moses while Israel walked in the wilderness. 382 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,360 And now this day I AM 85 years old, the Lord has kept Caleb 383 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:29,880 alive through the mana days of the wilderness where food fell 384 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,720 from heaven. And it was just, what is that 385 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:33,720 like? They didn't even know what it 386 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:34,680 was. That's why mana means. 387 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:39,360 It just means, what is that mana and going through rivers and 388 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,520 battles like Caleb has seen a lot. 389 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,040 And the thing he calls upon for his mind to have the courage to 390 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,840 holy follow him is those simple words. 391 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:53,080 The Lord kept me alive. It's God's sovereignty, it's 392 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,920 God's goodness, it's God's protection, it's God's power. 393 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,240 If you're going to be a person who fully follows God, when 394 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,760 you're awaiting his answer to your prayers, when you're 395 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,160 waiting for the promise to be delivered, listen to me. 396 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,920 You have to have a good grasp on who God is. 397 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:15,200 He is the one who is keeping you alive. 398 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,840 He is the one who is at work. He is the one moving. 399 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,360 He is the one protecting you. He is the one who is good and 400 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,480 loving. And if He has said no, he's got 401 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,960 something better in mind. God is at work even when you 402 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,000 can't see it. He doesn't see his life as 403 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,960 something he worked his way into. 404 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,360 He realized that God kept him alive for 40 years. 405 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:40,800 Just to give some of you a grip on what 40 years feels like, 406 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:44,360 let's just take a trip down memory lane. 1986 was 40 years 407 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:45,560 ago. That's correct. 408 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:51,160 And this is how people listen to music back then. 5 bucks to a 409 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:52,640 college student can call what that is. 410 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:55,880 I didn't hear a single college student say anything. 411 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:57,480 OK, that is what we call a cassette tape. 412 00:23:57,920 --> 00:23:59,880 Y'all? That's a cassette tape. 413 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,360 And cars used to have a spot for those to go into. 414 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,000 It didn't used to be touchscreen. 415 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,440 That's where they went. News came from a newspaper. 416 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:16,360 There was no Internet, no cell phones. 1986 I'm thankful to be 417 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:19,360 born in 1993. OK, Like I, I, I the 80s were 418 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:23,200 cool, the music was great, but I, I think it was better. 1991 419 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:24,760 Things are getting better. Michael Jordan's in the 420 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,880 basketball world now. Things are getting better 421 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,040 everywhere. 1991 This is what your desktop computer looked 422 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:32,720 like. This is what was called program 423 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,880 manager. Wow, we've gotten better with 424 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:42,520 this. 1995 You have what's called AOL Mail. 425 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,600 This is what it looked like. I mean, we're not even 40 years 426 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,760 now. We're we're, you know, 30 years 427 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,920 at this point. And this is how far we've come 428 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:59,320 for e-mail nine. 2001 Now you have obviously the hallmark 429 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:03,400 moments of 911 in our country, but that is what Google started 430 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,680 to look like. You couldn't Google before this, 431 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:08,360 but now you can. It's this thing that you go, 432 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:09,520 wait a second, I have a question. 433 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,040 And you would ask Jeeves or you would ask Google and you would 434 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:17,920 keep going about your life. 2006 That is what's called a 435 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,520 BlackBerry. Your grandpa might have had one 436 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:25,720 college students or perhaps your dad, a BlackBerry was an 437 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,520 advisor. Now e-mail was going from what 438 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,280 it looked like to this. This is where you would access 439 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:30,320 it. And they had this great game 440 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,280 called Brick Breaker on it that I would take my dad's phone and 441 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:39,560 I would play regularly. 2011 You have, that's what Instagram 442 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,560 first looked like, y'all And it had these things called, it 443 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,480 introduced the idea of filters onto your phone. 444 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,400 And I felt like suddenly, man, I was a photographer like, and 445 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,160 every other photographer in the room was like, yeah, I hated 446 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,080 that. Like the, the, the people 447 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,840 thought they could do stuff and I would take pictures of food 448 00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:58,480 because I want to be artsy, you know? 449 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,960 And I wanted girls to think that I was like, I don't know what I 450 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,040 wanted them to think. That's 2011. 451 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:08,400 That's Instagram when it started. 452 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:10,520 I mean, Facebook was just a totally different place that 453 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,480 ain't even bought it yet. 2016, we have this idea of like 454 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,680 streaming that Netflix is like, hey, guess what? 455 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,440 I don't know if you can, you probably can't see, but that 456 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,720 chart on the far right for you guys, the 114% of people hooked 457 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:29,600 up their computer to the TV to watch in 2016, only 10 years 458 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,480 ago. Like Netflix was just on your 459 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,000 computer. It was a website you logged into 460 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:38,720 or they mailed you DVDs. My fast time has gone. 461 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:49,520 That's 2016. 2021 COVID is obviously on the back burner for 462 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,200 all of America in the American mindset. 463 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,320 And you have these things called COVID birthday parties where 464 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,440 people would drive around and honk. 465 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,800 I don't know what states you lived in in 2021, but a lot of 466 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,920 us had different experiences depending on where you lived 467 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:07,680 during COVID in America 2026. Here we are in the advent of 468 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:14,200 artificial intelligence. Like so much has changed in 40 469 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:19,200 years. Life has shifted, technology has 470 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:25,800 adapted. Kayla went 45 years waiting for 471 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,840 God to fulfill the promise and that He would have this land. 472 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,080 Think of how much our country has changed. 473 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,200 Think of all the things that have happened. 474 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,440 But listen to me. One thing remained the same for 475 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,240 Caleb. He wholly followed God. 476 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:51,580 Man, I hope that's me. I hope that when I'm 80 years 477 00:27:51,580 --> 00:27:55,780 old, when I'm 85, like Caleb, the thing that is said of me, 478 00:27:55,780 --> 00:28:00,020 the reputation I have in this world is a man who wholly 479 00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:04,840 followed God. And this is a man just like you 480 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,240 and I. He's before Jesus comes, who did 481 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:09,960 you have the Holy Spirit living inside of him. 482 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:13,080 He's just a man who says, you know what? 483 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,760 I'm going to listen to God because he knows best that I'm 484 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,160 going to take him at his word. I'm going to do what he says. 485 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,440 I'm going to seek and learn the areas of my life that I need to 486 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:24,720 grow and following him because I don't even know what to do there 487 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,160 with my money, with my marriage, with my friendships, with my 488 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,560 schooling, whatever the category is for you, listen to me. 489 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,960 God has something to say for you on how to fully follow him there 490 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,680 and I think what can happen over the course of 45 years, I think 491 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:44,360 some of you already experienced this is this question is ringing 492 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:48,560 in our ears to God forget about me. 493 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,040 Did he forget that I have been wholly following him because He 494 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,760 hasn't blessed me the way I thought he would? 495 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,800 He hasn't taken care of me the way I thought he should. 496 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:08,080 Did he forget about me? Waiting can be so hard when the 497 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,880 promise is delayed. But I want you to picture Jesus 498 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,160 a little bit carefully this morning that one of the 499 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,280 experiences you'll have in your life sometimes is for many of us 500 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:23,240 that is, is, is on your wedding day, you will be awaiting either 501 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,480 the bride will be awaiting to get to her groom or the groom 502 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:30,800 will be waiting for his bride. And there's I've always thought 503 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,840 of this picture with God, God calls the church his bride. 504 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,080 I thought of it from my perspective as a husband waiting 505 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,880 for his bride on the altar. And you're like waiting to see 506 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:42,760 her and all of her beauty in the white dress. 507 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,720 And it's, it's just a wonderful day. 508 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,360 You're waiting for it, for all the engagement planning, the 509 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:52,000 worst season, you're waiting for it, you're waiting for it, 510 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,560 You're waiting for you're at the altar now the day is gone on. 511 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,280 You're just waiting to see her because you haven't seen her all 512 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:01,600 day. We know something amazing about 513 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:07,720 Jesus's. Jesus lives every day like it's 514 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:09,880 his wedding day and his delight in you. 515 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:16,440 That every day while we live is his wedding day with us. 516 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:21,080 That the thoughts of communing with us, the thoughts of being 517 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,600 with you and I is His great delight. 518 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:28,240 He loves you and though we are waiting for whatever promise he 519 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,400 has for us, that there's a there's a peace, there is a rest 520 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:37,800 that comes to your soul when you realize that Jesus Christ is 521 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:44,920 waiting for you with a smile, that he is delighted and you and 522 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:50,280 I, he didn't forget about you. He knows exactly what's up in 523 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:56,640 front of the days ahead. Caleb and the Israelites waited 524 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,320 for their inheritance in the land. 525 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:04,920 But we have a better promised land to go toward, a better 526 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,040 promised land that we await. And it's heaven. 527 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:09,440 That's our great inheritance. It's heaven. 528 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,320 And heaven is a few things. First, know what we get in 529 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,120 heaven, what our inheritance is. It's God himself. 530 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,960 We get God himself that the Levites, one of the 12 tribes of 531 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,960 Israel, that's actually their inheritance, they don't get any 532 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,880 land, they get God himself and that is a picture. 533 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,280 It is a shadow of what we get to experience that heaven, we get 534 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,760 God and we get to enjoy him forever. 535 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,680 Like I can't wait to sit at the table with Jesus for real face 536 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,120 to face. I can't wait to see him. 537 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,600 It's going to be a great day. And heaven is a place for people 538 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,520 who love Jesus. If you don't love Jesus, you're 539 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,720 not going to enjoy heaven and you won't be there. 540 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,040 It's a place for people who love him in our inheritance. 541 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,680 The Bible says it's imperishable, it's undefiled, 542 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,800 it's unfading, kept in heaven for you. 543 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,720 That's first Peter also. It says that we as God's 544 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,600 children, we are heirs, that we are heirs of God and fellow 545 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,200 heirs with Christ. There is a real inheritance 546 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,680 awaiting us in heaven with crowns and with joy and with 547 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,520 splendor that we get God himself in heaven is going to be better 548 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,360 than you can imagine. We have to be better hopers in 549 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,600 that day. It's also a place with 550 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:30,840 immortality, no sickness, no death, immortality, eternal 551 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,880 life. It's also a place of glory that 552 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,840 you were saved by God and that on that day when you were in 553 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,440 glory with Him, guess what It means the parts of you that you 554 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:44,440 don't like won't be there anymore. 555 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,920 The sin that plagues you from fully following Jesus will be 556 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,200 gone. I can't wait for that day too. 557 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,840 We're going to fully follow Him. Even when we wait for the 558 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:04,680 promise, like Caleb. And finally, this third thing, 559 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,440 we fully follow God until the work is finished. 560 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,240 We're trying to wholly follow God and receive the inheritance. 561 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,400 These people, the Israelites, they received land. 562 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,040 We're going to receive heaven, and that's going to be a better 563 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:17,560 land. It's a better promise. 564 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,760 It's a better inheritance. I can't wait for that day, but 565 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,320 until the work is finished, we are going to fully follow God. 566 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:29,120 Look at how this chapter closes. It says Caleb says, hey, so give 567 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,520 me Joshua, this Hill Country of which the Lord spoke on that day 568 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,520 45 years ago for you heard on that day how the Anakin were 569 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:37,040 there with great four to five cities. 570 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,760 It may be that the Lord will be with me. 571 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:42,280 Listen to his confidence in the battle. 572 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:47,480 It's not in his old, it's not in his age or his skill set and I 573 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,320 shall drive them out. I actually missed verse 11 574 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:51,520 there. I think this is one of my 575 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,920 favorite parts. He says I am still as strong 576 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,400 today as I was in the day that Moses sent me. 577 00:33:56,920 --> 00:33:59,520 So he's looking back at his, his 85 year old self is looking at 578 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,280 his 40 year old self. He's like, hey, I ain't as good 579 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,120 as I once was, but I am just as strong as I ever was. 580 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,239 If I'm still as strong 85 as I was at 40 like Caleb or as 581 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,679 confident as Caleb is, I think I'm in a good spot. 582 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,080 He's like, all right, Lord, I want to see this through. 583 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:16,480 I want to see the promise happen. 584 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,480 The job is not done. I am just as strong then as I 585 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,040 was now, my strength now as my strength and for war and for 586 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:25,880 going and coming. So give me the country, give me 587 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:27,920 the hill, and it may be that the Lord will with me. 588 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:31,480 And then verse 13, Joshua blesses him and he gave Hebron 589 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:35,600 to Caleb, the son of Jafuna for inherits just like God promised. 590 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,159 Therefore, He even became the inherits of Caleb to this day. 591 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:42,280 Look at it again. There it is in your Bible again. 592 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:46,280 Why? Because he wholly followed the 593 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:52,120 Lord, the God of Israel. He fully followed God. 594 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,800 That chapter 13 is just the recollection of who Moses gave 595 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,880 the land to in 14 and 15, the tribes of Judah get their 596 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,000 inheritance. In 16 and 17, the tribes of 597 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,040 Ephraim and Manasseh which are Joseph's kids and then 18 598 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:10,120 through 19 is the 7 remaining tribes that all in about 60 599 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,760 times you hear the phrase inheritance and allotment over 600 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:15,920 this chunk of Joshua. Also, you and I can see that God 601 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,640 keeps His promises until the work is finished. 602 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:22,360 And our job is to keep following him, keep following him, keep 603 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:25,080 following him and keep following him and keep following even when 604 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,960 we don't see the promise happen that one day the inheritance 605 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,840 will come. One day God will keep His 606 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:33,320 promise because there is not a single promise, not even 1 He 607 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:34,880 has ever made. He will not fulfill. 608 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,960 And then we get to Joshua. At the end of verse 19, we get 609 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:45,160 our title character once again. It's going to be on the screen 610 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:50,320 beside me, but it says this, that when Joshua had finished 611 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,000 distributing the several territories of the land as 612 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,480 inheritance, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among 613 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:56,920 them to Joshua, their leader, the son of Nun. 614 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,480 By command the of the Lord, the people of Israel gave him the 615 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:06,000 city that he asked Tim Nasira in the Hill Country of Ephraim, and 616 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:07,240 he rebuilt the city and settled it. 617 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,000 These are the inheritances that the priest and Joshua and the 618 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,880 heads of the father's House of the tribes of Israel distributed 619 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,880 by law at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tempt of 620 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,160 meeting. So they finished dividing the 621 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,760 land. Joshua and this priest just 622 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:23,840 follow God up until the work is finished. 623 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,560 Caleb wholly followed God, even through the finish line, whether 624 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:30,440 it was before the wilderness, in the wilderness, after the 625 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,960 wilderness, these men didn't matter what their age was, 626 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:35,560 didn't matter to the place. They were the same men who 627 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:37,080 finished strong, who followed God. 628 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:41,280 No matter what area, no matter what age, they were men who 629 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:45,800 followed God. Caleb drives out the remaining 630 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:46,720 people. In verse 12. 631 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:49,600 Joshua gives what God has said throughout the chapters. 632 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:54,440 Why? Because in verse 14 of chapter 633 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:59,120 14, it gives us our why? Once again, it says in verse 14 634 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,760 of chapter 14 because he wholly followed the Lord. 635 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,040 Their context did not determine their commitment to God. 636 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,560 The job wasn't done so they weren't done following Him yet. 637 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:22,760 In 2009, the Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals and they went 638 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:25,320 up two games to none. And Kobe Bryant was interviewed 639 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:28,520 after the game and they asked him, hey Kobe, why aren't you 640 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:29,880 smiling? Why aren't you happy? 641 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:32,360 Because he's got the Mamba mentality. 642 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:33,760 He's like, what's there to celebrate? 643 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:37,800 And he said these 3 words. Jobs not done. 644 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,040 I think often times what we'll find in our life is we'll think 645 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,280 the job is done in some area of following Jesus. 646 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,560 That just because we got it to one level that we'll start 647 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,200 neglecting that area of our life because we think it's holy 648 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:54,480 followed there. Listen to me, we can never let 649 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,960 our foot off the gas pedal of seeking the Lord with everything 650 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,840 we've got until we get to heaven. 651 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,160 Listen to me. There needs to be a human 652 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:06,640 responsibility underneath the sovereignty of God at work in 653 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:08,920 US, underneath the power of the Holy Spirit changing us. 654 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:15,440 There is a responsibility for us to fully follow him because one 655 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:18,920 of the most tempting things in life is to follow Jesus wholly 656 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:25,440 in some environments but not in others, that we get content in 657 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:29,640 some aspect of our spirituality. But I want to call us back to 658 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,320 this morning is holy following God and I'll call you back to 659 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,840 the attention of what we started with that some of you need to 660 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:39,160 grow and you know, seek God differently this week and this 661 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:40,840 season of your life as a thinker. 662 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:47,000 Read deeper books about God. Get into the Bible regularly 663 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,320 study who God is so you can love him more, so you can obey him 664 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:55,280 more accurately, more precisely, more even joyfully. 665 00:38:56,480 --> 00:39:00,480 There's a joy in obeying God. That's one of the great gifts is 666 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,440 that it's not just duty, it's delight to follow Him as a 667 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:09,720 thinker, as a worshipper. Some of us need to wholly follow 668 00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:12,200 God as a worshipper. That right now you've reduced 669 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:15,120 God and worship to right here in this moment that we worship Him 670 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,640 in a service and you're missing out on the total blessing it is 671 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:20,840 to worship God beyond this service. 672 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:23,760 You're not worship walking with Him throughout your week. 673 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:29,240 Listen to me. If you want to experience all 674 00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:33,280 God has for you, you must. You have to fully follow Him. 675 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,960 Do things in your life. Spend time with God in a way 676 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,160 that pulls affection and love for you out of Him. 677 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:44,640 Worship Him as a hopper. Many of us have settled for the 678 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:46,800 trinkets of earth instead of the treasures of heaven. 679 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,400 We spend so much time thinking about Earth. 680 00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:54,560 We spend so much time thinking about things that are going to 681 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,880 fade and going to falter and going to fail us. 682 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,720 When there is a hope that is an anchor for the soul, there is a 683 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:05,640 hope that is real that awaits us, that's going to last for 684 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:10,280 eternity. Don't get caught up in your bad 685 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:14,000 test score. Don't get so stuck on that fight 686 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,520 you had. Don't get so caught up in the 687 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:18,240 promotion you're chasing down at work. 688 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,720 Don't live for the treasures of earth, but lay up for yourselves 689 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:25,560 Treasures in heaven, hope in heaven. 690 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:31,840 And finally, Job's not done yet. So we're still warriors. 691 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,760 We have to fight sin. We still have to. 692 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:37,000 I can't wait for the day where I don't have to. 693 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:42,040 It's going to be great. We fight sin, we fight for 694 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,680 truth. We're warriors. 695 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:50,360 If we want to experience all God has for us, we have to fully 696 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,640 follow him. When fear tells us to retreat, 697 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,880 when the promise is delayed until the job is done, until the 698 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,120 work is finished, we must be men. 699 00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:03,160 We must be women, St. City, who fully follow God. 700 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,800 I pray that you're compelled this morning to chase God with 701 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,960 everything you've got, because you will find him inexhaustible. 702 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:16,440 You will find the treasure of knowing Him unbelievable and you 703 00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:18,880 will find out that's the greatest life there is. 704 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:19,960 Would you pray with me, Lord?