1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,240 Let's go ahead and get into our Bible study here tonight. 10 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,080 We're in the Book of Joshua. 11 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:29,720 We're in Joshua, chapter 14. 12 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,360 I would encourage you to follow along with me. 13 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,320 We've been in the book of Joshua now for quite some time on 14 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:35,920 Sunday nights. 15 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,000 And so if this is your first time with us, don't be afraid. 16 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,600 It's a still, it's a great message outside of the whole study. 17 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,600 Each study in and of itself is important for all of us. 18 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:50,080 And so in Joshua, chapter 14, by way of context, and I was teaching 19 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,630 the discipleship class this evening, we should practice the method 20 00:00:54,630 --> 00:00:55,310 of CIA. 21 00:00:55,790 --> 00:00:56,630 You say CIA. 22 00:00:56,630 --> 00:00:57,310 What are you talking about? 23 00:00:57,310 --> 00:01:00,590 In Bible study, we should practice the understanding of context. 24 00:01:00,830 --> 00:01:03,150 We should practice the understanding of interpretation, 25 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:04,990 and we should practice application. 26 00:01:05,390 --> 00:01:08,390 Context, interpretation and then application. 27 00:01:08,390 --> 00:01:10,990 So what's the context of Joshua, chapter 14? 28 00:01:11,390 --> 00:01:14,750 Well, what we've seen is that Joshua and the people of Israel have 29 00:01:14,750 --> 00:01:18,310 come into the promised land, that God has promised them for a 30 00:01:18,310 --> 00:01:19,150 very long time. 31 00:01:19,650 --> 00:01:23,170 And because of their lack of belief and because of their rebellion, 32 00:01:23,330 --> 00:01:27,250 God had delayed that timing for them to go to the promised land. 33 00:01:27,570 --> 00:01:31,170 But we know that Joshua, amongst a few others, were faithful 34 00:01:31,170 --> 00:01:32,650 to the call of God. 35 00:01:32,650 --> 00:01:35,970 And ultimately God still blesses them and allows them to go 36 00:01:35,970 --> 00:01:39,010 across the Jordan river into the promised land. 37 00:01:39,170 --> 00:01:40,370 There's a lot of battles. 38 00:01:40,450 --> 00:01:42,330 You guys are familiar with some of the famous ones. 39 00:01:42,330 --> 00:01:43,730 There's the battle of Jericho. 40 00:01:44,210 --> 00:01:44,650 There's. 41 00:01:44,650 --> 00:01:46,570 There's a battle in AI and. 42 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,800 And there's all these great victories that they have. 43 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,760 And ultimately, what we're seeing now, starting in chapter 12 44 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,800 and going from 12, 13 and 14 and then on in the book of Joshua, 45 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,480 is basically God dividing the land up, dividing the blessings up 46 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:02,600 into different groups. 47 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,960 And we know they're the tribes of Israel. 48 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,480 And we're seeing indications that God is keeping his word to these 49 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:09,240 different tribes. 50 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,890 And last week we looked at God's challenge to Joshua at this 51 00:02:13,890 --> 00:02:14,210 time. 52 00:02:14,210 --> 00:02:15,730 Joshua is an old man. 53 00:02:15,890 --> 00:02:16,810 That's not my words. 54 00:02:16,810 --> 00:02:17,610 That's God's words. 55 00:02:17,610 --> 00:02:23,610 If you go back to Joshua 13, it says that God is speaking to Joshua. 56 00:02:23,610 --> 00:02:28,930 And he says, thou art old and stricken in years, but there remaineth 57 00:02:28,930 --> 00:02:31,090 yet very Much land to be possessed. 58 00:02:31,330 --> 00:02:34,650 And the lesson really was last week that yes, Joshua was old. 59 00:02:34,650 --> 00:02:36,650 Joshua fought a lot of battles. 60 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:39,650 He had seen God's hand and it would have been very easy for him 61 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,990 to, to just quit, to just be content with the victories that he 62 00:02:42,990 --> 00:02:43,510 had already seen. 63 00:02:43,510 --> 00:02:45,390 But God says, you know what, Joshua? 64 00:02:45,390 --> 00:02:46,310 You're still alive. 65 00:02:46,550 --> 00:02:48,950 There's still a plan, there's still a purpose. 66 00:02:49,030 --> 00:02:49,910 Keep fighting. 67 00:02:50,150 --> 00:02:53,630 And we looked at the parallel to that in the New Testament in the 68 00:02:53,630 --> 00:02:57,110 book of Philippians when, when Paul is talking in Philippians 3 69 00:02:57,110 --> 00:03:00,390 about pressing forward, not looking back, but pressing on. 70 00:03:00,710 --> 00:03:03,950 And the challenge for all of us is that maybe we've been saved 71 00:03:03,950 --> 00:03:07,550 for a long time, maybe we've seen a lot of blessings, and we're 72 00:03:07,550 --> 00:03:10,030 physically fatigued or maybe even spiritually fatigued. 73 00:03:10,030 --> 00:03:12,610 The Bible says that there's still work to done, there's still 74 00:03:12,610 --> 00:03:13,810 battles to be fought. 75 00:03:13,890 --> 00:03:16,770 And so the challenge for Joshua was this, to push forward. 76 00:03:17,330 --> 00:03:20,290 And then there was the whole understanding of the inheritances 77 00:03:20,290 --> 00:03:22,570 that were seen by the power of God. 78 00:03:22,570 --> 00:03:24,370 And now we're going to get to Joshua 14. 79 00:03:24,770 --> 00:03:27,770 And the first five verses speak of more of the dividing of 80 00:03:27,770 --> 00:03:28,289 the land. 81 00:03:28,770 --> 00:03:32,010 And that can somewhat seem a little tedious as we're going through 82 00:03:32,010 --> 00:03:34,850 the study, but we're going to get to verse number six and we're 83 00:03:34,850 --> 00:03:36,850 going to see another individual named Caleb. 84 00:03:37,170 --> 00:03:39,210 And some of you know the story of Caleb. 85 00:03:39,210 --> 00:03:43,330 Caleb and Joshua were the two faithful spies that we saw all the 86 00:03:43,330 --> 00:03:44,710 way back in Book of Numbers. 87 00:03:44,710 --> 00:03:47,750 And so we're going to do a little character study in the life 88 00:03:47,750 --> 00:03:51,990 of Caleb and how he was a committed follower of God and how 89 00:03:51,990 --> 00:03:53,030 God blesses that. 90 00:03:53,030 --> 00:03:54,790 So let's look at Joshua, chapter 14. 91 00:03:54,790 --> 00:03:58,150 It says, and these are the countries which the children of Israel 92 00:03:58,150 --> 00:04:02,870 inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar and the priests 93 00:04:02,870 --> 00:04:05,710 and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes, 94 00:04:05,710 --> 00:04:08,590 of the children of Israel distributed for inheritance to them. 95 00:04:09,070 --> 00:04:12,390 And so essentially what this is, is this is describing all the 96 00:04:12,390 --> 00:04:16,040 blessings and inheritance that God has bestowed upon his people 97 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,520 through their victories and through his faithfulness to them. 98 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:19,320 Verse 2. 99 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,960 By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand 100 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,000 of Moses for the nine tribes and for the half tribe. 101 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,640 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and of 102 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,840 a half tribe on the other side, Jordan. 103 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,360 But unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. 104 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,600 And that's a study in itself because the Bible says that the Levites 105 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:38,680 didn't receive any land. 106 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,560 What the Levites did receive was the opportunity to have God as 107 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,210 their inheritance, which is an amazing picture that I think all 108 00:04:45,210 --> 00:04:48,650 of us can claim as Christians because we have the inheritance, 109 00:04:48,650 --> 00:04:52,410 the blessing of being in the family of God and having God as our. 110 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:55,290 As our gift, as, as the salvation that he extends to us. 111 00:04:55,770 --> 00:04:58,810 So verse four, it says, for the children of Joseph were two tribes, 112 00:04:58,810 --> 00:04:59,930 Manasseh and Ephraim. 113 00:05:00,010 --> 00:05:03,170 Therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save 114 00:05:03,170 --> 00:05:06,610 cities to dwell in and their suburbs for the cattle and for their 115 00:05:06,610 --> 00:05:07,130 substance. 116 00:05:07,290 --> 00:05:10,770 As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and 117 00:05:10,770 --> 00:05:11,810 they divided the land. 118 00:05:11,810 --> 00:05:16,040 So verse five tells us that God had promised this all the way 119 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:17,320 back at the time of Moses. 120 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,200 This is God keeping His word, and this is God's people obeying 121 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:21,800 his word. 122 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,000 So it's a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness to his people. 123 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,159 Even though they have not been completely faithful, he has been 124 00:05:28,159 --> 00:05:29,400 completely faithful to them. 125 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,080 And this is their way of identifying and realizing that and 126 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,480 dividing the land the way that he requested this. 127 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,520 So verse number six, we're going to see Caleb come back onto 128 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:40,040 the scene. 129 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,680 And really what we're going to do is we're going to read just a 130 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,360 little bit here in Joshua, chapter 14, give you some context. 131 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,240 And then we're going to go back to Numbers and we're going to 132 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,280 look in the Book of Numbers and see the story of Caleb. 133 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,840 And then essentially what happens is that Caleb claims a promise 134 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:58,760 of God that was given back in the Book of Numbers. 135 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:00,680 So let's look at verse number six. 136 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,360 It says, then the children of Judah, which all of you know, that 137 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,640 Judah was a tribe significant for many reasons, but one of the 138 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,520 biggest reasons is significant is because Jesus comes from the tribe 139 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:12,190 of Judah. 140 00:06:12,420 --> 00:06:15,460 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua and Gilgal. 141 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:19,500 And as we've seen in the Old Testament, Gilgal was a picture of 142 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:23,140 God's strength, a picture of the people tapping in and relying 143 00:06:23,140 --> 00:06:24,180 in God's strength. 144 00:06:24,180 --> 00:06:27,140 And so this is a place of spiritual growth. 145 00:06:27,140 --> 00:06:28,860 It's a place of spiritual renewal. 146 00:06:28,860 --> 00:06:30,500 It's a place of spiritual refreshment. 147 00:06:30,660 --> 00:06:35,540 And Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, said unto 148 00:06:35,540 --> 00:06:39,740 him, thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the 149 00:06:39,740 --> 00:06:44,230 man of God, concerning me and the in Kadesh Barnea. 150 00:06:44,790 --> 00:06:48,390 So essentially what Caleb is doing is he's going to Joshua, and 151 00:06:48,390 --> 00:06:51,470 he says, joshua, do you remember the promise that God made 152 00:06:51,470 --> 00:06:55,630 to us, the promise that he gave to Moses for us back in those 153 00:06:55,630 --> 00:06:55,990 days? 154 00:06:55,990 --> 00:07:00,350 And verse 7 says, 40 years old was I when Moses the servant of the 155 00:07:00,350 --> 00:07:04,390 Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. 156 00:07:04,710 --> 00:07:07,910 And I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. 157 00:07:08,790 --> 00:07:13,190 And so what Caleb is doing is he's looking back to a time in his 158 00:07:13,190 --> 00:07:14,790 life when he was 40 years old. 159 00:07:15,110 --> 00:07:18,750 He says, 40 years old was I when Moses, a servant, sent me from 160 00:07:18,750 --> 00:07:20,910 Kadesh Barnea to a spy out in the land. 161 00:07:20,910 --> 00:07:21,910 Some of you know the story. 162 00:07:22,470 --> 00:07:23,870 There's a children's song about it. 163 00:07:23,870 --> 00:07:26,750 There's 12 spies that go and look into the land, and they. 164 00:07:26,750 --> 00:07:29,270 They basically are spying for Moses. 165 00:07:29,270 --> 00:07:29,710 They're. 166 00:07:29,710 --> 00:07:32,390 They're giving the account of what they see. 167 00:07:32,550 --> 00:07:35,790 And if you remember the song, there were 10 spies that went out 168 00:07:35,790 --> 00:07:39,910 and looked and they saw what they saw, which were about to go 169 00:07:39,910 --> 00:07:40,510 study that. 170 00:07:40,670 --> 00:07:43,670 And they came back with no faith, saying, there's no way that 171 00:07:43,670 --> 00:07:45,070 we could go take that land. 172 00:07:45,470 --> 00:07:48,750 And there were two spies, Joshua and Caleb, that went and saw 173 00:07:48,750 --> 00:07:49,390 what they saw. 174 00:07:49,470 --> 00:07:52,030 And they saw the same thing which we're going to look at. 175 00:07:52,270 --> 00:07:55,390 They saw the same thing, but they saw it from a different perspective. 176 00:07:55,550 --> 00:07:57,790 They saw it from a perspective of faith. 177 00:07:57,950 --> 00:08:00,350 And so they came back and said, no, we're going to do this. 178 00:08:00,990 --> 00:08:02,030 We can do this. 179 00:08:02,410 --> 00:08:03,690 God's going to give us the victory. 180 00:08:04,010 --> 00:08:07,970 And so what Caleb is doing is he's reminding Joshua, and ultimately 181 00:08:07,970 --> 00:08:11,930 he's calling out to God to remember him when they come back 182 00:08:11,930 --> 00:08:14,490 to this place of the promises and the inheritance. 183 00:08:14,490 --> 00:08:18,569 Because God made a promise to Caleb so that he could have certain 184 00:08:18,569 --> 00:08:21,570 blessings when he was faithful back in the Book of Numbers. 185 00:08:21,570 --> 00:08:22,890 So let's pause there. 186 00:08:22,890 --> 00:08:24,250 That's a good stopping place. 187 00:08:24,250 --> 00:08:28,170 And let's go back to the Book of numbers, numbers, chapter 13. 188 00:08:29,180 --> 00:08:30,220 Numbers, chapter 13. 189 00:08:30,220 --> 00:08:35,460 And we're going to see this account that God gives us here of 190 00:08:35,460 --> 00:08:37,100 Caleb and Joshua. 191 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:41,100 And we're going to see the spiritual blessing that Caleb finds 192 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:45,660 by living a life of faith and trusting in the victory of the Lord. 193 00:08:45,660 --> 00:08:51,020 And so in Numbers, chapter 13, the Lord is bringing the people up 194 00:08:51,020 --> 00:08:52,420 to the land of Canaan. 195 00:08:52,420 --> 00:08:57,090 And some of you know, because of the 10 spies giving this report 196 00:08:57,090 --> 00:09:00,290 of the fact that there is no hope and that we can't have victory, 197 00:09:00,370 --> 00:09:03,650 the people of Israel don't go into that land. 198 00:09:03,970 --> 00:09:06,650 And because of that, God judges them and makes them wander 199 00:09:06,650 --> 00:09:07,410 for 40 years. 200 00:09:07,410 --> 00:09:10,930 And actually, all the people that were alive during that time 201 00:09:11,170 --> 00:09:12,170 had to die off. 202 00:09:12,170 --> 00:09:15,490 And the only two people that were able to see that promised land 203 00:09:15,490 --> 00:09:17,170 was Joshua and Caleb. 204 00:09:17,250 --> 00:09:20,290 And that's what we're seeing come to pass here in numbers, chapter 205 00:09:20,370 --> 00:09:20,770 13. 206 00:09:20,770 --> 00:09:21,730 So let's look at this. 207 00:09:21,730 --> 00:09:23,770 We're going to just go through numbers, chapter 13. 208 00:09:23,770 --> 00:09:27,360 We're going to see the account of the faithfulness of Caleb, and 209 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,640 then we're going to transport over to Joshua and we're going to 210 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,360 kind of see the culmination of all that. 211 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,680 And we'll try to do that in the time that we have. 212 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:36,800 And if we don't finish, we'll pick up next time. 213 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:37,680 So numbers 13. 214 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,960 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, send thou men that they may 215 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,760 search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of 216 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:45,280 Israel. 217 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:46,960 So let's stop there. 218 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,800 God says, go and look at the land. 219 00:09:51,390 --> 00:09:52,070 But what does he say? 220 00:09:52,070 --> 00:09:55,590 He says that this is the land which I give unto the children of 221 00:09:55,590 --> 00:09:56,030 Israel. 222 00:09:56,030 --> 00:09:58,790 So this is a promise of God saying, this land is already yours. 223 00:09:58,790 --> 00:09:59,950 You just have to go take it. 224 00:10:00,990 --> 00:10:02,270 The promise is there. 225 00:10:02,590 --> 00:10:04,430 I'm going to give you this land. 226 00:10:04,830 --> 00:10:07,790 And it says, which I gave unto the children of Israel, of every 227 00:10:07,790 --> 00:10:11,430 tribe of their father shall you send a man, everyone, a ruler 228 00:10:11,430 --> 00:10:12,110 among them. 229 00:10:12,510 --> 00:10:15,550 So he says, pick one person from each tribe. 230 00:10:15,710 --> 00:10:16,310 Verse 3. 231 00:10:16,310 --> 00:10:19,070 And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent from the. 232 00:10:19,740 --> 00:10:21,500 Sent them from the wilderness of Paran. 233 00:10:21,740 --> 00:10:25,260 All those men were heads of the children of Israel. 234 00:10:25,660 --> 00:10:26,860 So Moses obeys. 235 00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:29,060 Verse 4 lists all the guys that go. 236 00:10:29,060 --> 00:10:32,780 And these were the names of the tribe of Reuben, and so on and 237 00:10:32,780 --> 00:10:33,260 so forth. 238 00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:35,700 But ones I want you to see there, we're not going to go through 239 00:10:35,700 --> 00:10:36,060 all of them. 240 00:10:36,060 --> 00:10:40,780 But verse 6 of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jeffuna. 241 00:10:40,860 --> 00:10:43,860 And so we see that Caleb is the representative for the tribe 242 00:10:43,860 --> 00:10:44,540 of Judah. 243 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:48,940 And then of course we go down and we see these different names 244 00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:49,460 that are. 245 00:10:49,460 --> 00:10:50,540 Are listed here. 246 00:10:51,050 --> 00:10:55,210 And ultimately we have the understanding that out of this group 247 00:10:55,210 --> 00:10:58,810 of spies, verse 16, these are the names of the men which Moses 248 00:10:58,810 --> 00:11:00,090 sent to spy out the land. 249 00:11:00,090 --> 00:11:05,210 And Moses called Oshi, the son of Nun Jehoshua, which is Joshua. 250 00:11:05,210 --> 00:11:07,810 We see that there's that representation there of Joshua and 251 00:11:07,810 --> 00:11:08,330 Caleb. 252 00:11:08,490 --> 00:11:11,850 And so verse 17 and Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan 253 00:11:11,850 --> 00:11:15,770 and said unto them, get you up this way southward and go up into 254 00:11:15,770 --> 00:11:18,320 the mountain and see the land what it is. 255 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,120 So really the, the, the goal, the purpose, the. 256 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,840 The marching orders is just to go take a survey. 257 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,120 And the people that dwell therein, where, whether they be strong 258 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,200 or weak, few or many, what the land is that they dwell in, whether 259 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,560 it be good or bad, and what cities they be that they dwell in, 260 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:40,080 whether intense or in strongholds and what is the land? 261 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,160 What what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there 262 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:45,680 be wood therein or not. 263 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:47,920 And be ye of good courage. 264 00:11:49,190 --> 00:11:52,350 Verse 20 tells us that Moses gives them the challenge. 265 00:11:52,350 --> 00:11:54,950 And ultimately we know the Lord gives them the challenge of 266 00:11:54,950 --> 00:11:55,910 being of good courage. 267 00:11:55,910 --> 00:11:57,830 That reminds us a lot of Joshua. 268 00:11:57,830 --> 00:12:00,750 1 Remember, Joshua was reminded, be of good courage and 269 00:12:00,750 --> 00:12:02,550 bring the of the fruit of the land. 270 00:12:02,630 --> 00:12:06,870 Now the time was the time of the first stripe, first ripe grapes. 271 00:12:06,950 --> 00:12:07,950 Verse 21. 272 00:12:07,950 --> 00:12:10,870 So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin 273 00:12:10,950 --> 00:12:11,830 until Rehab. 274 00:12:11,830 --> 00:12:13,670 And the men come to Hamath. 275 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,920 And they ascended by the south and came to Hebron, where Ahiman 276 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,080 and these are some interesting names, Shisha and Talme and the children 277 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,800 of Anak were Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in 278 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:26,320 Egypt. 279 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,920 And they came unto the brook of Eshkol and cut down from thence 280 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,080 a branch with one cluster of grapes. 281 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,440 And they bear it between two upon a staff. 282 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,840 And they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs. 283 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,730 The place was called the brook of Eshkol because of the cluster 284 00:12:41,730 --> 00:12:42,170 of grapes. 285 00:12:42,170 --> 00:12:44,130 With the children of Israel cut down from fence. 286 00:12:44,130 --> 00:12:46,570 And they return from searching of the land after 40 days. 287 00:12:46,570 --> 00:12:49,210 So the Bible tells us that they take these grapes, they take 288 00:12:49,210 --> 00:12:51,490 these fruits, and they're going to bring them back and they're 289 00:12:51,490 --> 00:12:52,450 going to give the report. 290 00:12:53,170 --> 00:12:53,970 Verse 26. 291 00:12:53,970 --> 00:12:56,850 And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron, and to all the 292 00:12:56,850 --> 00:12:59,290 congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of 293 00:12:59,290 --> 00:13:02,810 Paran, to Kadesh, and brought back word unto them, and unto all 294 00:13:02,810 --> 00:13:05,170 the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 295 00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:09,300 And they told him, and said, we came unto the land whether thou 296 00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:13,260 sent us us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and 297 00:13:13,260 --> 00:13:14,540 this is the fruit of it. 298 00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:18,940 And so verse 27 tells us that everything that they've been told 299 00:13:19,020 --> 00:13:21,180 from God about this land is true. 300 00:13:21,580 --> 00:13:23,980 God has never misrepresented himself. 301 00:13:24,380 --> 00:13:27,100 God has never lied to them, he's never misled them. 302 00:13:27,180 --> 00:13:29,860 God has been telling them for many years that this is a land of 303 00:13:29,860 --> 00:13:30,500 milk and honey. 304 00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:32,060 This is a land of abundance. 305 00:13:32,060 --> 00:13:33,580 This is a land of promise. 306 00:13:33,580 --> 00:13:34,860 This is a land of blessing. 307 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,720 And what they see is just that, a land of milk and honey. 308 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:40,440 Verse 28. 309 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:45,680 Though it tells us that they specifically the 10, were living 310 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,440 with a lack of faith, this is nevertheless the people be strong 311 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,440 that dwell in the land. 312 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,520 And the cities are walled and very great. 313 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,000 And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. 314 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,520 The Amalekites dwell in the Land of the south and the Hittites 315 00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,840 and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains of 316 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,790 the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. 317 00:14:03,670 --> 00:14:05,790 And so what we can see here is really this. 318 00:14:05,790 --> 00:14:06,150 They're. 319 00:14:06,150 --> 00:14:08,550 They're giving all the circumstantial evidence. 320 00:14:08,630 --> 00:14:11,750 Nothing that they're saying at this point is wrong. 321 00:14:12,310 --> 00:14:14,910 But what they're doing is they're coming at it from a perspective 322 00:14:14,910 --> 00:14:18,350 of faithlessness instead of a perspective of faith, instead of 323 00:14:18,350 --> 00:14:22,110 a perspective of confidence in their God and the promises that he's 324 00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:22,390 given. 325 00:14:22,710 --> 00:14:25,750 They're coming with, look, there's a lot of bad people here, 326 00:14:25,910 --> 00:14:26,270 though. 327 00:14:26,270 --> 00:14:29,190 There's a lot of good food, though the land is amazing. 328 00:14:29,270 --> 00:14:32,360 There's a lot of people here that can hurt us. 329 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,720 Verse 30 says, and Caleb, there's our guy for the night. 330 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,480 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, let us go 331 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,880 up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. 332 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,280 Now, I don't believe Caleb is saying, hey, we're enough. 333 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:49,360 We can do this. 334 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:50,200 We're strong enough. 335 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,120 I believe Caleb, as we see later on, is a picture of faith. 336 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,360 And Caleb is saying, yeah, there's a lot of people there, but 337 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,030 God is big enough and we can go in the promises and in the power 338 00:15:00,030 --> 00:15:01,470 and the provision of God. 339 00:15:01,710 --> 00:15:04,670 And that's really how all of us should face any hardship in our 340 00:15:04,670 --> 00:15:04,910 life. 341 00:15:04,990 --> 00:15:08,470 I mean, we can look around and we can see a lot of problems, we 342 00:15:08,470 --> 00:15:11,590 can see a lot of issues, we can see a lot of giants that are 343 00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:14,110 coming against us as we see in this passage. 344 00:15:14,190 --> 00:15:17,710 And we can see that there's really two ways that we can look 345 00:15:17,710 --> 00:15:18,830 at these obstacles. 346 00:15:19,070 --> 00:15:23,230 There's two ways that we can look at these quote unquote problems. 347 00:15:23,690 --> 00:15:26,090 And it would be this, number one, we can't do it. 348 00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:28,570 That's what we're going to see the other people say. 349 00:15:28,570 --> 00:15:31,450 And then we're going to see that there's people like Caleb that 350 00:15:31,450 --> 00:15:34,290 say, yeah, it's hard, yeah, there's going to be a lot against 351 00:15:34,290 --> 00:15:37,530 us, but we are able to overcome it in the power of God. 352 00:15:37,530 --> 00:15:38,490 So verse 31. 353 00:15:38,570 --> 00:15:43,410 But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up 354 00:15:43,410 --> 00:15:45,850 against the people, for they are stronger than we. 355 00:15:47,050 --> 00:15:49,570 So we see really the perspective of faithlessness. 356 00:15:49,570 --> 00:15:52,760 They're looking at just the basic thing that they see before 357 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:53,000 them. 358 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,480 And they see that, hey, we're not. 359 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,080 We're not physically strong enough. 360 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,440 We don't have enough people, we don't have enough resources. 361 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:01,480 Caleb saw the power of God. 362 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,400 These people saw no power of God. 363 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:04,560 They saw their own power. 364 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:08,440 And let me tell you, if we look at situations from our own perspective, 365 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:09,520 yeah, we're not enough. 366 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:11,960 You know, if you came up to me and you said, you know what? 367 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:14,640 I got this problem, I got this problem, I got this problem. 368 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,400 And the problems keep stacking up and you tell me all these things 369 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,720 and you say, you know what? 370 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:20,720 I don't know if I can handle this. 371 00:16:21,180 --> 00:16:25,380 And if I'm looking at you from the perspective of you and your power 372 00:16:25,380 --> 00:16:27,820 and your strength, and that's all I'm looking at. 373 00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:31,260 You know what I'm going to tell you in my man focused wisdom. 374 00:16:31,420 --> 00:16:32,580 Yeah, you can't handle that. 375 00:16:32,580 --> 00:16:33,260 That's too much. 376 00:16:33,740 --> 00:16:35,340 And that's what we see the world doing. 377 00:16:35,420 --> 00:16:37,980 We see the world telling people, you can't handle that. 378 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:40,780 So what you need to do is just go find something that can dull your 379 00:16:40,940 --> 00:16:41,420 pain. 380 00:16:41,900 --> 00:16:42,220 Go. 381 00:16:42,220 --> 00:16:43,740 Go get your mind off of it. 382 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:46,820 You know, just go give yourself up to all the things of 383 00:16:46,820 --> 00:16:47,340 this world. 384 00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:50,580 But really, when we look at it from the perspective of grace and 385 00:16:50,580 --> 00:16:53,710 the perspective of faith, we can say, yeah, I'm not enough to 386 00:16:53,710 --> 00:16:56,790 handle the problems, but God who lives within me is enough to 387 00:16:56,790 --> 00:16:57,510 handle the problems. 388 00:16:57,510 --> 00:17:00,630 Therefore, we can go forward because the power of God can overcome 389 00:17:00,630 --> 00:17:00,870 it. 390 00:17:00,870 --> 00:17:04,030 The Bible tells us in Romans, chapter eight, something amazing. 391 00:17:04,030 --> 00:17:05,510 That's one of my favorite verses. 392 00:17:05,590 --> 00:17:08,710 It says that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. 393 00:17:09,190 --> 00:17:11,750 More than conquerors or super conquerors in Christ Jesus. 394 00:17:11,750 --> 00:17:14,030 Not in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. 395 00:17:14,030 --> 00:17:17,990 So they say, no, we can't go because there's too much there. 396 00:17:17,990 --> 00:17:19,870 There's too many strong people. 397 00:17:19,870 --> 00:17:20,590 Verse 32. 398 00:17:20,590 --> 00:17:24,310 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had 399 00:17:24,310 --> 00:17:27,670 searched unto the children of Israel, saying, the land through 400 00:17:27,670 --> 00:17:32,790 which we have gone to search, it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants 401 00:17:32,790 --> 00:17:33,430 thereof. 402 00:17:33,910 --> 00:17:38,550 And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. 403 00:17:38,870 --> 00:17:43,670 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the 404 00:17:43,670 --> 00:17:44,230 giants. 405 00:17:45,110 --> 00:17:47,980 And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. 406 00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:48,130 And. 407 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,040 And so we were in their sight. 408 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,440 And so what happens here is this. 409 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:53,800 They look at the giants. 410 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,320 And instead of seeing the giants and saying, yeah, God can 411 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:58,320 handle them, they see the giants and think, yeah, we're not 412 00:17:58,320 --> 00:17:58,560 enough. 413 00:17:58,560 --> 00:17:59,480 We can't do that. 414 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,400 Even though God told us to take this land. 415 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,319 Even though God has promised us to take this land and that he 416 00:18:04,319 --> 00:18:05,400 will give us all the victory. 417 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,200 No, we can't do that because they're looking at the situation 418 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,720 at hand instead of looking at the one who created the situation. 419 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,600 And then we, you know, again, chapter divisions weren't there originally. 420 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:16,680 So the story goes on. 421 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,600 Verse 1 of chapter 14. 422 00:18:19,090 --> 00:18:21,650 And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried. 423 00:18:21,810 --> 00:18:23,810 And the people wept that night. 424 00:18:24,850 --> 00:18:25,730 Why did they weep? 425 00:18:25,730 --> 00:18:28,930 They wept because they were taking the advice from the ones who 426 00:18:28,930 --> 00:18:29,730 had no faith. 427 00:18:30,450 --> 00:18:31,050 Verse 2. 428 00:18:31,050 --> 00:18:33,810 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against 429 00:18:33,810 --> 00:18:34,250 Aaron. 430 00:18:34,250 --> 00:18:37,810 And the whole congregation said unto them, would God that he 431 00:18:37,810 --> 00:18:43,050 had died, that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would God we 432 00:18:43,050 --> 00:18:44,610 have died in the wilderness? 433 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,840 And again, it's just a heartbeat of faith, Faithlessness. 434 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,480 They say, would it have been better if we just, like, died out 435 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:52,600 there? 436 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,560 Why did God bring us all the way here to die? 437 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:55,840 This doesn't make any sense. 438 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:56,400 Verse 3. 439 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,120 And wherefore hath God brought us unto this land to fall by the 440 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:04,520 sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey, were it 441 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,600 not better for us to return into Egypt. 442 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,600 Can you believe that they're at this point thinking it would just 443 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,880 be better if we went back into the bondage of the evil Egyptians, 444 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,880 that that's how much they had regressed back into their faithlessness, 445 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,640 that that faithlessness had brought them to a place of thinking 446 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,040 just crazy thoughts. 447 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,360 But that's what happens to us in our own life. 448 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:25,840 We don't think logically. 449 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,880 We don't think with reason, we don't think with faith when we're 450 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,440 walking outside of what God has called us to do. 451 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:36,720 And these people are so blinded by their faithlessness that 452 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,040 they're willing to say that, you know what, it probably was just 453 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,890 better that we stayed in Egypt with our captors. 454 00:19:42,690 --> 00:19:45,050 And obviously we know that that's not the way that they should 455 00:19:45,050 --> 00:19:45,570 be thinking. 456 00:19:45,570 --> 00:19:47,610 They had had mana come down from heaven. 457 00:19:47,610 --> 00:19:50,690 They had the pillar of fire by night, they had the cloud by day. 458 00:19:50,690 --> 00:19:51,490 They had seen. 459 00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:55,610 These are the same people that saw the Red Sea part right in front 460 00:19:55,610 --> 00:19:56,050 of them. 461 00:19:56,450 --> 00:19:57,850 But yet they go back to this. 462 00:19:57,850 --> 00:20:00,370 And they say, yeah, but look at those giants. 463 00:20:00,370 --> 00:20:02,570 Look at the people that are there. 464 00:20:02,570 --> 00:20:03,810 They are going to overcome us. 465 00:20:03,810 --> 00:20:05,410 And so they have no hope. 466 00:20:06,300 --> 00:20:06,860 Verse 4. 467 00:20:06,860 --> 00:20:09,940 And they said, one to another, let us make a captain and let us 468 00:20:09,940 --> 00:20:11,820 return into Egypt. 469 00:20:12,940 --> 00:20:15,900 That's how far they wanted to go back to that old way. 470 00:20:16,380 --> 00:20:18,460 They wanted to go back to the bondage. 471 00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:22,580 We look at people today that have tasted so much of the grace 472 00:20:22,580 --> 00:20:23,020 of God. 473 00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:26,620 We look at people who have seen God's hand over and over and 474 00:20:26,620 --> 00:20:27,020 over. 475 00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:31,860 Again be so evident in their life, but yet, because of a lack 476 00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:35,000 of faith, they want to go back to the old way. 477 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,840 They want to turn back to what they think was the safe route. 478 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,320 Even though we know it wasn't the safe route. 479 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:42,680 It was a route of destruction. 480 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:44,280 It was a route of bondage. 481 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:44,680 It was a. 482 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:45,800 It was a route of death. 483 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,240 But now they're here and they think, you know what? 484 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:49,400 I don't think God can do this. 485 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:50,520 We just want to go back. 486 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:55,920 We want to revert back to the old way and think about even the 487 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,440 story of Peter, of just talking about this tonight with our 488 00:20:58,750 --> 00:20:59,950 discipleship classes. 489 00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:03,630 Peter was a guy who obviously saw great things. 490 00:21:03,630 --> 00:21:05,470 Peter saw Jesus walk on water. 491 00:21:06,110 --> 00:21:08,270 Peter saw Jesus feed the 5,000. 492 00:21:08,830 --> 00:21:11,230 Peter saw the Mount of transfiguration. 493 00:21:11,230 --> 00:21:12,510 He saw all of that. 494 00:21:12,590 --> 00:21:15,350 But yet you guys know what he did right before Jesus went to the 495 00:21:15,350 --> 00:21:15,710 cross? 496 00:21:15,710 --> 00:21:17,230 He denied Jesus. 497 00:21:18,510 --> 00:21:21,470 And there was a lot of things that he could have done in that moment. 498 00:21:21,790 --> 00:21:23,110 But in that moment, he. 499 00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:23,390 He. 500 00:21:23,390 --> 00:21:24,590 He is a broken man. 501 00:21:25,090 --> 00:21:28,130 He says, I go a fishing, I got, you know, I just gotta go back 502 00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:29,250 to my old way of doing things. 503 00:21:29,250 --> 00:21:32,490 And yet we see the power of God come back and we see restoration. 504 00:21:32,490 --> 00:21:36,050 But in that moment of faithlessness, in that moment of 505 00:21:36,050 --> 00:21:39,530 doubt, in that moment of hopelessness comes really, what we 506 00:21:39,530 --> 00:21:41,570 see is sinful, irrational decisions. 507 00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:43,490 And that's what's happening here in Numbers 14. 508 00:21:44,930 --> 00:21:47,570 But what we know is that not everyone did that. 509 00:21:47,970 --> 00:21:51,570 We know that Caleb is one that's standing out amongst the rest. 510 00:21:52,340 --> 00:21:54,660 And so verse four, and they said, one to another, let us make 511 00:21:54,660 --> 00:21:56,220 a captain and return back to Egypt. 512 00:21:56,220 --> 00:21:59,780 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly 513 00:21:59,780 --> 00:22:02,820 of the congregation of the Children of Israel, verse 6. 514 00:22:02,820 --> 00:22:06,980 And Joshua the son of nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which 515 00:22:06,980 --> 00:22:09,980 were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes, okay, so 516 00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:14,020 Joshua and Caleb are broken over this because they see the flaws, 517 00:22:14,020 --> 00:22:17,060 they see the failure of the people and not having faith. 518 00:22:17,710 --> 00:22:20,470 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, 519 00:22:20,470 --> 00:22:23,950 saying, the land which we pass through to search it, it is exceeding 520 00:22:23,950 --> 00:22:24,590 good land. 521 00:22:25,390 --> 00:22:29,710 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land 522 00:22:29,710 --> 00:22:33,509 and give it us a land which floweth with milk and honey. 523 00:22:33,509 --> 00:22:36,910 We just see two really contrasting types of people. 524 00:22:37,230 --> 00:22:39,950 We see the people that saw the same thing, right? 525 00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:43,850 Those 10 spies saw the giants, they saw the land, they saw Caleb 526 00:22:43,850 --> 00:22:47,770 and Joshua saw the land, they saw the giants, they saw the food, 527 00:22:47,770 --> 00:22:52,210 they saw the same thing, but just so diametrically different results 528 00:22:52,610 --> 00:22:55,810 in what they want to do because of faith. 529 00:22:56,210 --> 00:23:00,050 Faith, Joshua and Caleb have will bring them to a place of trusting 530 00:23:00,050 --> 00:23:00,530 the Lord. 531 00:23:00,530 --> 00:23:04,450 The faith that the people don't have is really what we're seeing 532 00:23:04,450 --> 00:23:05,330 missing in this case. 533 00:23:05,330 --> 00:23:08,810 It's where they're falling into the trap of doubt and fear and 534 00:23:08,810 --> 00:23:10,770 wanting to run away from all of their problems. 535 00:23:11,210 --> 00:23:14,850 So verse 8 shows that they believe that God will do what he 536 00:23:14,850 --> 00:23:15,570 says he will do. 537 00:23:15,570 --> 00:23:16,170 Verse 9. 538 00:23:16,170 --> 00:23:18,250 Only rebel, not ye against the Lord. 539 00:23:18,250 --> 00:23:22,050 Neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for 540 00:23:22,050 --> 00:23:22,370 us. 541 00:23:22,370 --> 00:23:26,890 Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. 542 00:23:26,969 --> 00:23:30,570 Fear them not really could be summarized there at the end of verse 543 00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:30,890 nine. 544 00:23:32,090 --> 00:23:36,170 Really, that's what we see is the difference between these individuals 545 00:23:36,170 --> 00:23:38,410 that have no faith and these individuals that have faith. 546 00:23:38,410 --> 00:23:40,440 They say, the Lord is with us. 547 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,160 It's, it's, it's the presence of the Lord in their life that makes 548 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:45,800 the difference. 549 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,320 It's not that they didn't see the giants. 550 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,800 It's not that they really wanted those grapes. 551 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:52,480 They really wanted those pomegranates. 552 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,000 It was because they believed that God would keep his word. 553 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,120 And the question that we have for us here this evening before us 554 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,480 is, are we going to be like those 10 spies who will say that 555 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,440 we believe in God until we see the problems at hand and then we 556 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:06,760 want to back up and go away? 557 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,230 Are we going to be like Joshua and Caleb that say, yeah, I see all 558 00:24:10,230 --> 00:24:13,350 the things around us, I see the giants around me, I see the problems 559 00:24:13,350 --> 00:24:16,910 in my life, I see the news, I, I, I heard the report. 560 00:24:17,390 --> 00:24:18,670 I, I see all the problems. 561 00:24:18,670 --> 00:24:19,310 But you know what? 562 00:24:19,310 --> 00:24:20,830 God is with me through that. 563 00:24:20,830 --> 00:24:21,910 He's going to get us through that. 564 00:24:21,910 --> 00:24:23,310 And there's no reason to fear. 565 00:24:23,710 --> 00:24:25,950 And so instead of fear, there's faith. 566 00:24:26,910 --> 00:24:29,990 And so those are the two things that are being looked at in 567 00:24:29,990 --> 00:24:32,270 this passage is are we going to live in fear? 568 00:24:32,510 --> 00:24:34,030 Are we going to live in faith? 569 00:24:34,110 --> 00:24:35,230 You can't live in both. 570 00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:38,980 You, you can't have fear and faith in the same place and say, 571 00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:41,940 well, I, I'm, I'm so afraid and I'm not going to trust God, but 572 00:24:41,940 --> 00:24:42,660 I trust God. 573 00:24:42,660 --> 00:24:43,900 It doesn't make any sense. 574 00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:46,620 We either going to trust God or we're going to fear and not trust 575 00:24:46,620 --> 00:24:47,020 God. 576 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:47,780 Verse 10. 577 00:24:47,780 --> 00:24:50,700 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. 578 00:24:51,580 --> 00:24:54,500 And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the 579 00:24:54,500 --> 00:24:56,100 congregation before all the children of Israel. 580 00:24:56,100 --> 00:24:59,540 And the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke 581 00:24:59,540 --> 00:24:59,820 me? 582 00:25:00,140 --> 00:25:04,060 And how Long will it be err that they believe me for all the 583 00:25:04,060 --> 00:25:05,660 signs which I have shown among them. 584 00:25:06,020 --> 00:25:08,300 So God asked the question that probably all of us are asking. 585 00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:08,820 What do we. 586 00:25:08,980 --> 00:25:11,380 What does he have to do to get them to believe in Him? 587 00:25:11,620 --> 00:25:13,180 Now we know that God knows the answer. 588 00:25:13,180 --> 00:25:14,900 This was obviously to provoke the people. 589 00:25:15,140 --> 00:25:16,100 God knows everything. 590 00:25:16,180 --> 00:25:17,780 But there's this question here. 591 00:25:17,780 --> 00:25:19,620 He says, why are they still this way? 592 00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:20,260 Verse 12. 593 00:25:20,260 --> 00:25:23,340 I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them and 594 00:25:23,340 --> 00:25:26,540 will make of the a great nation, a greater nation, and mightier 595 00:25:26,540 --> 00:25:27,060 than they. 596 00:25:27,300 --> 00:25:30,260 And so we're not going to get down this whole study. 597 00:25:30,260 --> 00:25:33,060 But Moses then intercedes for the people of Israel. 598 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:34,380 He prays for them. 599 00:25:34,380 --> 00:25:37,740 And ultimately we know that God doesn't completely wipe them 600 00:25:37,740 --> 00:25:40,660 out, but he does give them that judgment of that they can't 601 00:25:40,660 --> 00:25:41,980 enter into the promised land. 602 00:25:42,220 --> 00:25:43,500 But then we go all the way. 603 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,900 Jump ahead with me to verse 38 in Numbers 14. 604 00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:48,060 We're getting somewhere. 605 00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:48,820 We're going to build this. 606 00:25:48,820 --> 00:25:49,940 Okay, verse 38. 607 00:25:49,940 --> 00:25:53,820 But Joshua the son of nun, and Caleb the son of Jeffuna, which were 608 00:25:53,820 --> 00:25:57,020 of the men that went to search the land, lived still. 609 00:25:58,220 --> 00:26:01,860 So, so the blessing that we can see there is that ultimately 610 00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:05,220 Joshua and Caleb are spared from the judgment of God because 611 00:26:05,220 --> 00:26:06,020 of their faith. 612 00:26:06,500 --> 00:26:11,140 And if you, you go up a little bit to a few different verses, we 613 00:26:11,140 --> 00:26:12,500 see that verse 30. 614 00:26:12,500 --> 00:26:15,060 Doubtless he shall not come into the land concerning which I 615 00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:19,220 swear to make you dwell there and save Caleb and save Joshua. 616 00:26:19,540 --> 00:26:24,300 And so we see that there is that promise of God to give Joshua 617 00:26:24,300 --> 00:26:29,510 and Caleb the opportunity to be in that land, to understand the 618 00:26:29,510 --> 00:26:30,870 blessings of God. 619 00:26:31,110 --> 00:26:35,510 And we actually see that there is land that is promised to Caleb. 620 00:26:35,510 --> 00:26:38,350 There is, there's inheritance promised to Caleb in the promised 621 00:26:38,350 --> 00:26:38,710 land. 622 00:26:39,030 --> 00:26:42,790 And so God would not allow the generation of unbelief to enter in. 623 00:26:43,510 --> 00:26:46,510 And so he waits for them to die in the wilderness. 624 00:26:46,510 --> 00:26:50,910 And we know that there's other places Caleb actually calls Joshua 625 00:26:50,910 --> 00:26:55,820 back to the promise that Moses made in Deuteronomy chapter one. 626 00:26:55,820 --> 00:26:57,260 So we're in numbers 14. 627 00:26:57,260 --> 00:26:59,100 Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter one. 628 00:26:59,580 --> 00:27:02,300 This is why it's so important to understand context. 629 00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:06,100 Because if we just read Joshua chapter 14 and not understand all 630 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:08,340 these promises that are being referenced, we're not going to really 631 00:27:08,340 --> 00:27:09,900 see the whole story. 632 00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:16,340 And so In Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 35, we see that there is 633 00:27:16,340 --> 00:27:17,020 this, this. 634 00:27:17,100 --> 00:27:19,100 This promise that's given to Caleb. 635 00:27:19,180 --> 00:27:22,590 And that's the promise that Caleb is trusting in all the way 636 00:27:22,590 --> 00:27:24,110 in Joshua, chapter 14. 637 00:27:25,150 --> 00:27:31,710 And so again, we as Christians should not provoke God in such a 638 00:27:31,710 --> 00:27:35,310 way of pride that we say, God, we demand you to do something. 639 00:27:35,870 --> 00:27:39,310 Because there's some people out there in the world, certain Christian 640 00:27:39,310 --> 00:27:41,750 circles that say, you know, we can just demand God to do things 641 00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:42,110 for us. 642 00:27:42,110 --> 00:27:44,830 No, that's not what Caleb is doing in Joshua 14. 643 00:27:45,150 --> 00:27:47,990 All Caleb is doing is standing on the promise that God has already 644 00:27:47,990 --> 00:27:48,750 given him. 645 00:27:49,050 --> 00:27:52,130 And so as a Christian, we can't demand things from God, but 646 00:27:52,130 --> 00:27:54,730 what we can do is stand on the promises that he's given us. 647 00:27:54,730 --> 00:27:57,330 Because God is true to his word every single time. 648 00:27:57,330 --> 00:27:59,010 He is faithful and just. 649 00:27:59,010 --> 00:28:02,010 He is the one who is going to keep his word in every situation. 650 00:28:02,010 --> 00:28:04,130 You know, I love my children so much. 651 00:28:04,130 --> 00:28:06,010 I love my wife so much. 652 00:28:06,010 --> 00:28:07,370 I love my church so much. 653 00:28:07,530 --> 00:28:13,450 But if I give you a promise, I. I'm not 100% in every promise 654 00:28:13,530 --> 00:28:14,620 for many different reasons. 655 00:28:15,090 --> 00:28:17,410 One, I might make a promise that I can't fulfill. 656 00:28:17,970 --> 00:28:21,130 You know, if I say to someone, hey, I'll be there, there might be 657 00:28:21,130 --> 00:28:22,850 a lot of reasons why I can't be there. 658 00:28:22,850 --> 00:28:24,370 One I might have just forgotten. 659 00:28:24,450 --> 00:28:26,890 Okay, my brain could just have it. 660 00:28:26,890 --> 00:28:27,850 You guys know how that goes. 661 00:28:27,850 --> 00:28:29,850 Sometimes you don't write it down, it just slips out and you just 662 00:28:29,850 --> 00:28:30,690 don't even remember it. 663 00:28:31,330 --> 00:28:32,930 And I don't keep my promise. 664 00:28:33,330 --> 00:28:36,370 Maybe I'm, I'm not, but maybe I'm just malicious and say, yeah, 665 00:28:36,370 --> 00:28:38,290 I'm not going to keep my promises to anyone that I love. 666 00:28:38,290 --> 00:28:40,850 Okay, well, then I probably don't really love them if I don't 667 00:28:40,850 --> 00:28:42,050 want to keep my promises to them. 668 00:28:42,460 --> 00:28:44,740 But let's say I do want to keep my promises and I say I'm going 669 00:28:44,740 --> 00:28:46,500 to be there, but then there's traffic, right? 670 00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:50,860 I'm limited in my promises because of the fact that I'm limited 671 00:28:50,860 --> 00:28:51,580 in my power. 672 00:28:51,820 --> 00:28:56,060 I'm limited in, in my, my actual, my personal space. 673 00:28:56,060 --> 00:28:57,980 I can't be all places at once. 674 00:28:58,300 --> 00:29:00,020 So let's say some of you have never done this. 675 00:29:00,020 --> 00:29:00,780 But I've done this. 676 00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:03,820 I've promised two different people that I would meet them at 677 00:29:03,820 --> 00:29:05,420 the same time in two different places. 678 00:29:05,580 --> 00:29:07,460 And I realized I got a conflict of interest. 679 00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:08,860 I can't be in two places at once. 680 00:29:08,860 --> 00:29:10,140 So my promise has failed. 681 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:12,360 I say all that to say this. 682 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,840 My promises to you are important, but I can't keep my promises 683 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:17,160 a hundred percent of the time. 684 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,160 But when God makes a promise, he's completely powerful. 685 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:22,920 He's everywhere all at once. 686 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,480 And when he makes a Promise. 687 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:25,720 He will keep his promise. 688 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:30,400 So what Caleb is doing in Joshua 14 is he's standing on the 689 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,920 promise that's given to him In Deuteronomy, chapter 1. 690 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,040 Deuteronomy, chapter 1, verse 35, it says this. 691 00:29:36,420 --> 00:29:39,780 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation 692 00:29:39,780 --> 00:29:43,780 see that good land which I swear to give unto your fathers. 693 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:46,100 Save Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. 694 00:29:46,180 --> 00:29:47,380 He shall see it. 695 00:29:48,100 --> 00:29:51,700 And to him will I give the land that he have trodden upon. 696 00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:56,060 So the land that he went out and spied in, he says, that's the 697 00:29:56,060 --> 00:29:59,260 land that I'm actually going to give him because he sowed the 698 00:29:59,260 --> 00:29:59,780 seed there. 699 00:29:59,780 --> 00:30:02,020 He went there in faith and he believed. 700 00:30:02,150 --> 00:30:05,710 And so when you guys do get there, Caleb is going to receive 701 00:30:05,710 --> 00:30:07,670 the land that he went and spied in. 702 00:30:08,310 --> 00:30:10,670 And he says, and to his children, because he hath. 703 00:30:10,670 --> 00:30:12,470 Here it is, verse 36. 704 00:30:12,550 --> 00:30:15,190 He hath wholly followed the Lord. 705 00:30:16,390 --> 00:30:18,469 This is not Caleb talking about himself. 706 00:30:18,630 --> 00:30:20,150 Caleb isn't saying I. 707 00:30:20,150 --> 00:30:23,670 Because in Joshua 14, if you read just Joshua 14, Caleb says, 708 00:30:23,750 --> 00:30:26,470 God gave me these promises because I wholly follow the Lord. 709 00:30:26,550 --> 00:30:28,030 That kind of sounds a little prideful. 710 00:30:28,030 --> 00:30:29,960 Like, what if I got up in front of you and said, well, God 711 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,280 gives me all these promises because I. I follow God. 712 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:33,560 I'm. 713 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:34,080 I'm perfect. 714 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:35,760 No, that's not what Caleb is saying. 715 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,960 Caleb is saying, no, that's what God told Moses to say. 716 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:41,840 God is the one who says that I followed him with everything. 717 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:45,560 And so what the end of verse 36 in Deuteronomy chapter 1 says 718 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,880 is that God blesses Caleb for completely following the Lord with 719 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:50,720 all of his heart. 720 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:52,960 And that's really what God calls us to do. 721 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,800 God calls us to completely follow him. 722 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:55,960 The holy follow him. 723 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,930 Now, with all of that being said, we've got a few more minutes. 724 00:30:58,930 --> 00:31:01,010 Let's go back and look at number or. 725 00:31:01,010 --> 00:31:03,970 Excuse me, Joshua, chapter 14, Joshua, chapter 14. 726 00:31:03,970 --> 00:31:07,490 Now, with all of those things in mind, let's go back to Caleb's 727 00:31:07,490 --> 00:31:08,610 request to Joshua. 728 00:31:09,410 --> 00:31:11,810 So he goes to Joshua and Gilgal. 729 00:31:12,610 --> 00:31:15,090 He says, hey, remember what Moses did? 730 00:31:15,090 --> 00:31:16,450 Remember what Moses said? 731 00:31:16,450 --> 00:31:17,970 He Sundays, I was 40 years old. 732 00:31:18,050 --> 00:31:19,410 Now, this is much later. 733 00:31:19,730 --> 00:31:22,530 Caleb was around 85 years old at this point. 734 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:23,280 And. 735 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,600 And so we're going to see what he says about this. 736 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,920 He says in verse number eight, he says, nevertheless, my brethren 737 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,600 that went up with me made the heart of the people melt. 738 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,120 But I wholly followed the Lord, my God. 739 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,760 He says, those people that I went with to spy in the land, they 740 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:41,400 were afraid. 741 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:42,120 They melted. 742 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,760 They were in so much fear, he says, no, but I follow God. 743 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,400 I believe God would keep his word. 744 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,080 And just as much as I believe that God was going to keep his word 745 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,920 when we went that first time, I believe that God's going to keep 746 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:54,920 his word by giving me this land that he has promised me. 747 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:00,400 Verse number nine, he says, and Moses swear on that day, saying, 748 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,600 surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine 749 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,240 inheritance and thy children's forever, because thou has wholly 750 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,160 followed the Lord, my God. 751 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,000 The, the challenge for us is not to be perfect, but the challenge 752 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,520 for us is to completely follow God with everything that we have. 753 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,900 And when we do falter, to recognize that and to trust in the 754 00:32:20,900 --> 00:32:23,700 Lord's grace to overcome those struggles that we might face. 755 00:32:23,700 --> 00:32:25,980 And so no doubt Caleb had struggles in his life. 756 00:32:25,980 --> 00:32:27,460 Caleb's not a sinless person. 757 00:32:27,620 --> 00:32:28,780 That's not what this is saying. 758 00:32:28,780 --> 00:32:32,500 But what the saying is, Caleb says, I fully trust God, and I fully 759 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:34,300 trust God is going to keep his word in this promise. 760 00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:34,820 Verse 10. 761 00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:37,140 And now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive. 762 00:32:37,380 --> 00:32:38,980 He says, God's kept his word. 763 00:32:39,060 --> 00:32:40,820 He's kept me alive through all of this. 764 00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:42,020 And that's saying a lot. 765 00:32:42,020 --> 00:32:45,500 I mean, for us, just in general, in America today, if someone 766 00:32:45,500 --> 00:32:48,020 lives to the age that Caleb lives to, we're like, wow, that's 767 00:32:48,020 --> 00:32:48,580 impressive. 768 00:32:48,580 --> 00:32:50,020 But remember what Caleb is doing. 769 00:32:50,020 --> 00:32:52,200 Caleb is out in the battlefield. 770 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,760 I mean, it's not like he's living a very comfortable life and 771 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:56,680 he's being insulated by all these things. 772 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,280 Caleb has been fighting, he's been battling, and God has preserved 773 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:00,480 him. 774 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,800 And so this talks of God's preservation of his promise. 775 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:04,840 And so verse 10. 776 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:06,480 And now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive. 777 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:10,480 And he said, these 40 and five years, even since the Lord spake 778 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:13,520 this word unto Moses while the children of Israel wandered in the 779 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:13,920 wilderness. 780 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,920 And now, lo, I am this day four score and five years old. 781 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:18,360 So he says, I'm 85 years old. 782 00:33:19,020 --> 00:33:21,340 This has been 45 years since God's given me this promise. 783 00:33:21,820 --> 00:33:25,060 I don't know about you guys, but if I was Caleb in those 45 years, 784 00:33:25,060 --> 00:33:25,820 I might be doubting. 785 00:33:25,820 --> 00:33:28,180 Lord, are you going to keep that promise that you made back then? 786 00:33:28,180 --> 00:33:30,060 Remember, I followed you, I was ready to go. 787 00:33:30,140 --> 00:33:31,620 Lord, are you going to keep this promise? 788 00:33:31,620 --> 00:33:34,899 He says, I'm 85 years old now, but I love verse number 11. 789 00:33:34,899 --> 00:33:38,660 I, I, I don't think this will be my testimony when I'm 85, if I 790 00:33:38,660 --> 00:33:39,420 can make 85. 791 00:33:39,420 --> 00:33:40,820 But this is Caleb's testimony. 792 00:33:40,820 --> 00:33:41,300 Catch this. 793 00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:41,900 This is amazing. 794 00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:46,300 He says, as yet, I am as strong this day as I was in the day 795 00:33:46,300 --> 00:33:47,340 that Moses sent me. 796 00:33:47,340 --> 00:33:48,380 So what is he saying? 797 00:33:48,380 --> 00:33:51,380 He says, I'm as strong now at 85 as I was at 40. 798 00:33:51,380 --> 00:33:52,580 He's like, I'm ready to go. 799 00:33:52,580 --> 00:33:56,100 He's like, I'm ready to take this land as my strength was. 800 00:33:56,340 --> 00:33:57,140 Was then. 801 00:33:57,220 --> 00:34:01,460 Even so is my strength now for war both to go out and to come in 802 00:34:02,660 --> 00:34:03,060 now. 803 00:34:03,460 --> 00:34:06,940 We could say, well, maybe Caleb just really kept himself fit. 804 00:34:06,940 --> 00:34:10,100 Maybe he, you know, ate a lot of those grapes and pomegranates 805 00:34:10,100 --> 00:34:12,820 and he kept that Mediterranean diet and he was really healthy. 806 00:34:13,140 --> 00:34:14,020 We could say that. 807 00:34:14,020 --> 00:34:16,900 Or we could say that God preserved Caleb through this and 808 00:34:16,900 --> 00:34:19,660 that God strengthened him for the battle that he needed to fight. 809 00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:20,940 And so verse 12. 810 00:34:20,940 --> 00:34:22,540 Now, therefore, give me this mountain. 811 00:34:22,540 --> 00:34:25,620 He's like, give me the opportunity to claim the promises 812 00:34:25,620 --> 00:34:26,300 of God. 813 00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:29,740 Says, it's not too late, but I want to make sure that it's now. 814 00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:32,380 He says, now give me this mountain where of the Lord spake 815 00:34:32,380 --> 00:34:32,939 in that day. 816 00:34:32,939 --> 00:34:37,500 For thou heard us in that day how the Anakin's Anakims were there 817 00:34:37,580 --> 00:34:39,540 and that the cities were great and fenced. 818 00:34:39,540 --> 00:34:43,860 If so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive 819 00:34:43,860 --> 00:34:45,609 them out, as the Lord said. 820 00:34:45,769 --> 00:34:48,609 Now, the interesting part about this is that those people that 821 00:34:48,609 --> 00:34:50,649 were there before are still there at that time. 822 00:34:50,969 --> 00:34:54,209 He says, I was ready 45 years ago, and I'm ready now. 823 00:34:54,209 --> 00:34:56,569 Lord, give me the opportunity to take this land. 824 00:34:57,049 --> 00:35:01,729 And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephthuna, 825 00:35:01,729 --> 00:35:03,129 Hebron for an inheritance. 826 00:35:03,929 --> 00:35:08,369 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh 827 00:35:08,369 --> 00:35:12,529 the Kenizzite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the 828 00:35:12,529 --> 00:35:13,419 Lord God of Israel. 829 00:35:13,570 --> 00:35:14,050 Israel. 830 00:35:14,450 --> 00:35:19,490 And the name of Hebron before was Kjath Arba, which is which Arbo 831 00:35:19,490 --> 00:35:21,210 was a great man among the Anakin. 832 00:35:21,210 --> 00:35:22,850 And the land had rest from war. 833 00:35:23,010 --> 00:35:24,090 So we'll end there. 834 00:35:24,090 --> 00:35:27,330 But I want to take a few applications for us. 835 00:35:27,890 --> 00:35:31,330 Caleb saw many things in his life. 836 00:35:31,330 --> 00:35:34,970 He goes when he's 40 years old and he sees this land of giants. 837 00:35:34,970 --> 00:35:37,490 And he believes that God would give him that land. 838 00:35:37,490 --> 00:35:41,370 He sees that God would be with him in his power and his provision 839 00:35:41,370 --> 00:35:42,170 and his protection. 840 00:35:42,170 --> 00:35:44,090 But yet at the time God told him to wait. 841 00:35:44,570 --> 00:35:47,490 God did promise him, though, that that land would be his. 842 00:35:47,490 --> 00:35:50,530 And through Caleb's life he stayed faithful to the Lord. 843 00:35:50,530 --> 00:35:54,370 And he whole, as it says there, he wholly followed God and 844 00:35:54,370 --> 00:35:56,930 again, I do want to take note of the fact that that doesn't mean 845 00:35:56,930 --> 00:35:57,930 that he was sinless. 846 00:35:57,930 --> 00:36:00,490 But what that means is that through his life, he committed himself 847 00:36:00,490 --> 00:36:01,050 to God. 848 00:36:01,130 --> 00:36:03,530 He was willing to trust in what God had to say. 849 00:36:03,930 --> 00:36:07,530 And God allowed for him to reap the benefits of that blessing 850 00:36:07,530 --> 00:36:12,790 by keeping that promise to Caleb and keeping his faithfulness 851 00:36:12,790 --> 00:36:17,190 to him in the midst of all of those uncertainties around him. 852 00:36:17,510 --> 00:36:20,830 And so I see a blessing of a man who was faithful. 853 00:36:20,830 --> 00:36:23,990 We see a blessing of a man who committed himself to trusting in 854 00:36:23,990 --> 00:36:24,349 the Lord. 855 00:36:24,349 --> 00:36:25,590 And the idea will be this. 856 00:36:25,750 --> 00:36:30,990 Really, the contrast that we see in Joshua 14, in numbers, in 857 00:36:30,990 --> 00:36:34,070 Deuteronomy, is that are we going to be those people that live 858 00:36:34,530 --> 00:36:37,250 like Caleb and Joshua with faith, believing in what God says, 859 00:36:37,250 --> 00:36:39,410 even if it looks like insurmountable odds? 860 00:36:39,570 --> 00:36:41,890 Or are we going to be those people that say, yeah, Lord, we know 861 00:36:41,890 --> 00:36:42,770 you said that. 862 00:36:42,850 --> 00:36:45,370 We know you're going to bless us and it would be nice to go there, 863 00:36:45,370 --> 00:36:46,610 but it's not worth our trouble. 864 00:36:46,930 --> 00:36:51,170 We're too afraid that we might fall into the trap of these giants, 865 00:36:51,170 --> 00:36:52,370 that we might be defeated. 866 00:36:52,530 --> 00:36:53,970 And they don't trust in the Lord. 867 00:36:53,970 --> 00:36:56,490 And you see what happens is those people, they. 868 00:36:56,490 --> 00:36:58,290 They missed out on those blessings. 869 00:36:58,530 --> 00:37:00,310 Those people that lack faith, they. 870 00:37:00,310 --> 00:37:03,230 They, they thought that they were staying safe, but they missed 871 00:37:03,230 --> 00:37:04,790 out on all the blessings of God. 872 00:37:05,350 --> 00:37:09,670 And I'm not here today to say you should risk things just to risk 873 00:37:09,750 --> 00:37:13,830 things, but sometimes God does call us to take a step of faith and 874 00:37:13,830 --> 00:37:16,550 in our perspective, risk something for Him. 875 00:37:17,190 --> 00:37:20,030 Now, let me tell you, when you are stepping out in faith, it's a 876 00:37:20,030 --> 00:37:23,350 risk for you in your mind, but it's never a risk for God. 877 00:37:23,590 --> 00:37:26,470 God is never at risk because God knows the end of the story. 878 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,960 And if he's calling us to do something, he's not risking anything. 879 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:31,960 There's certainty with him and his promises. 880 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,320 But for us, from our human perspective, of course there's a 881 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:37,840 risk because we don't see the end of the story. 882 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,760 We have to believe in faith to see the end goal happen. 883 00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:45,080 And so what I would say is this. 884 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:49,200 If we want to take risks for the Lord that he's called us to take 885 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:51,320 in our lives, we have to. 886 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,320 We have to do it by faith. 887 00:37:53,710 --> 00:37:56,350 We cannot do it by it making sense to us. 888 00:37:57,150 --> 00:37:59,310 Pastor Carlos mentioned, you know, was it five years? 889 00:37:59,310 --> 00:38:00,190 Was it nine years? 890 00:38:00,750 --> 00:38:04,070 The reason why I remember it, because I vividly remember that time 891 00:38:04,070 --> 00:38:04,670 of moving here. 892 00:38:04,670 --> 00:38:05,070 It was. 893 00:38:05,070 --> 00:38:05,870 It was in June. 894 00:38:06,030 --> 00:38:07,350 This June, it will be nine years. 895 00:38:07,350 --> 00:38:07,910 So I'M I'm. 896 00:38:07,910 --> 00:38:08,270 I'm. 897 00:38:08,350 --> 00:38:09,549 I. I lied a little bit. 898 00:38:09,549 --> 00:38:11,630 It's been like eight years and like 10 months. 899 00:38:11,630 --> 00:38:12,190 Okay. 900 00:38:12,190 --> 00:38:16,750 But the idea would be this, that I remember that day when God 901 00:38:16,750 --> 00:38:18,350 said, you know, you. 902 00:38:18,590 --> 00:38:20,190 Because I. I made a promise to the Lord. 903 00:38:20,190 --> 00:38:22,390 I said, lord, wherever you want me to go, I'll go. 904 00:38:22,710 --> 00:38:25,190 And I said, but just, you know, like, I circled a couple places 905 00:38:25,190 --> 00:38:25,830 on the map. 906 00:38:26,150 --> 00:38:28,070 I was like, you know, like, I don't want to go there. 907 00:38:29,750 --> 00:38:31,670 And not that I didn't know anything about Delaware. 908 00:38:31,670 --> 00:38:34,070 So it wasn't any hate towards Delaware or the Northeast at all. 909 00:38:34,070 --> 00:38:34,630 It wasn't that. 910 00:38:34,630 --> 00:38:37,070 It was just like, I didn't believe that God would want me in 911 00:38:37,070 --> 00:38:39,510 a place that was different than where I was from. 912 00:38:39,670 --> 00:38:43,750 And I remember God calling us specifically to this place and thinking, 913 00:38:43,830 --> 00:38:45,350 lord, I. I don't know. 914 00:38:45,350 --> 00:38:45,710 I. 915 00:38:45,710 --> 00:38:46,790 There's a lot of risk here. 916 00:38:46,790 --> 00:38:50,110 There was a lot of risk by uprooting a family and moving to 917 00:38:50,110 --> 00:38:50,550 a place. 918 00:38:51,030 --> 00:38:54,470 Some of you can identify with that there was a lot of risk in certain 919 00:38:54,470 --> 00:38:58,950 things that happened, you know, in the transpiring times that 920 00:38:58,950 --> 00:38:59,430 happened. 921 00:39:00,230 --> 00:39:01,590 But what I will say is this. 922 00:39:01,670 --> 00:39:07,430 The best place, the safest place, the most secure place with 923 00:39:07,430 --> 00:39:09,110 no risk is in the will of God. 924 00:39:09,350 --> 00:39:12,550 And if God has you doing something and he's led you to a place 925 00:39:12,790 --> 00:39:16,230 and he's calling you and he's promised you, hey, yeah, it might 926 00:39:16,230 --> 00:39:17,030 look uncertain. 927 00:39:17,030 --> 00:39:18,390 There might be giants out there. 928 00:39:18,390 --> 00:39:19,150 Think about David. 929 00:39:19,150 --> 00:39:22,390 I mean, there's a giant out there, and no one was willing to 930 00:39:22,390 --> 00:39:22,750 go out there. 931 00:39:22,750 --> 00:39:23,910 And David said, sure, I will. 932 00:39:23,910 --> 00:39:26,630 I mean, I've got faith that God's going to give us the victory. 933 00:39:27,030 --> 00:39:28,910 So I don't know what the giants are in your life. 934 00:39:28,910 --> 00:39:30,790 I. I can think of some giants in my life. 935 00:39:31,110 --> 00:39:33,950 Not necessarily physical giants, but giants that can come 936 00:39:33,950 --> 00:39:37,470 up against us and cause us a lot of fear, a lot of doubts, a lot 937 00:39:37,470 --> 00:39:38,390 of insecurity. 938 00:39:38,550 --> 00:39:42,270 Whatever that giant is, goes back to the promises of God and rest 939 00:39:42,270 --> 00:39:45,310 in those promises in faith, saying, lord, I'm claiming those 940 00:39:45,310 --> 00:39:46,950 promises that you'll give me that land. 941 00:39:47,550 --> 00:39:49,910 Now, I'm not talking about physical land, but what I'm talking 942 00:39:49,910 --> 00:39:52,870 about is that all of us have those promises of God as believers 943 00:39:52,870 --> 00:39:55,750 that God has given us the opportunity to trust in. 944 00:39:55,750 --> 00:40:01,630 And so Caleb sees the hand of God working 45 years later, 45 years 945 00:40:01,630 --> 00:40:03,630 later, he sees the culmination of all this. 946 00:40:03,950 --> 00:40:05,390 But it didn't mean that he just waited. 947 00:40:05,390 --> 00:40:08,030 He didn't just stay back in Gilgal and say, okay, everyone else 948 00:40:08,030 --> 00:40:10,110 fight it he was like, I'm ready to fight now. 949 00:40:10,110 --> 00:40:12,870 So he was ready to keep fighting as God had given him that 950 00:40:12,870 --> 00:40:13,150 promise. 951 00:40:13,150 --> 00:40:15,250 And I think that's also something to note because, like, 952 00:40:15,250 --> 00:40:17,650 in a risk, we think that God's just going to bring everything to 953 00:40:17,650 --> 00:40:17,810 us. 954 00:40:17,810 --> 00:40:21,530 But sometimes God allows us to see an opportunity, and then we've 955 00:40:21,530 --> 00:40:22,650 got to step through that door. 956 00:40:22,730 --> 00:40:25,370 We've got to take that initiative to say, lord, it's by 957 00:40:25,370 --> 00:40:28,090 action that I believe, because I could sit here all day and say, 958 00:40:28,090 --> 00:40:29,410 you know, you guys heard the analogy. 959 00:40:29,410 --> 00:40:30,370 There's a chair up here. 960 00:40:30,370 --> 00:40:32,770 Well, I believe the chair can hold me up, but it's until I sit 961 00:40:32,770 --> 00:40:34,490 in that chair that I'm proving my faith. 962 00:40:34,650 --> 00:40:37,850 So Caleb proved his faith in the promise of God by saying, lord, 963 00:40:37,850 --> 00:40:38,770 I'm ready to go. 964 00:40:38,770 --> 00:40:41,210 Give me the opportunity to go fight those giants. 965 00:40:41,850 --> 00:40:43,370 And that's really what it is for us. 966 00:40:43,370 --> 00:40:46,570 God makes a promise to us, and we take a step of faith in believing 967 00:40:46,570 --> 00:40:47,450 in that promise. 968 00:40:48,090 --> 00:40:50,930 And so a question that I'll ask you this evening now, by way 969 00:40:50,930 --> 00:40:52,410 of context is this. 970 00:40:53,130 --> 00:40:55,210 What are you willing to risk for the Lord? 971 00:40:55,930 --> 00:40:57,450 Are you willing to risk for the Lord? 972 00:40:57,450 --> 00:41:00,250 Are you willing to take a step that doesn't make sense on paper, 973 00:41:00,410 --> 00:41:03,570 but maybe at the end of the day, it might be the greatest blessing 974 00:41:03,570 --> 00:41:06,290 that you might have ever received in your life by stepping 975 00:41:06,290 --> 00:41:07,000 out in faith? 976 00:41:07,390 --> 00:41:08,350 And so Caleb did that. 977 00:41:08,350 --> 00:41:13,110 And what an amazing snapshot of an awesome story of a guy trusting 978 00:41:13,110 --> 00:41:16,030 in God in the midst of people not trusting around him. 979 00:41:16,750 --> 00:41:17,550 Think about that. 980 00:41:18,030 --> 00:41:22,230 Everyone that he knew outside of Joshua had gone because of their 981 00:41:22,230 --> 00:41:22,990 lack of faith. 982 00:41:23,230 --> 00:41:24,710 But Caleb stayed faithful. 983 00:41:24,710 --> 00:41:26,990 He stayed strong, and God blesses that. 984 00:41:26,990 --> 00:41:29,070 And may we stay strong in the midst of a. 985 00:41:29,070 --> 00:41:31,870 Of a culture that does not stay faithful around us. 986 00:41:32,350 --> 00:41:33,670 It's easy to drift. 987 00:41:33,670 --> 00:41:37,660 It's easy to take the bait and just kind of go with the flow. 988 00:41:37,820 --> 00:41:41,060 But what I will say is that in a culture that is going the opposite 989 00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:43,860 direction from the Lord, we have to fight against the stream. 990 00:41:43,860 --> 00:41:44,340 We have to. 991 00:41:44,340 --> 00:41:46,140 We have to push against the current. 992 00:41:46,780 --> 00:41:49,460 You know, I. I've often said this, and it's not original to me, 993 00:41:49,460 --> 00:41:52,140 but in a world full of lies, the truth looks crazy. 994 00:41:52,620 --> 00:41:52,940 And. 995 00:41:52,940 --> 00:41:54,180 And that's where we're at right now. 996 00:41:54,180 --> 00:41:58,100 We're in a place where when we preach the truth, we look crazy to 997 00:41:58,100 --> 00:42:00,060 people who are living in craziness. 998 00:42:00,620 --> 00:42:01,820 And so what I would say is this. 999 00:42:01,820 --> 00:42:05,590 Don't allow the distractions and the craziness of this world dictate 1000 00:42:05,590 --> 00:42:06,110 our truth. 1001 00:42:06,270 --> 00:42:07,990 Our truth is found in the word of God. 1002 00:42:07,990 --> 00:42:10,310 And our truth is found in the promises of God. 1003 00:42:10,310 --> 00:42:11,230 Think about these things. 1004 00:42:11,230 --> 00:42:14,470 The promises of God, the power of God, the provisions of God, the 1005 00:42:14,470 --> 00:42:19,430 presence of God, the power of God, the promises of God, the presence 1006 00:42:19,430 --> 00:42:20,950 of God, and the provisions of God. 1007 00:42:20,950 --> 00:42:24,150 Think about those things right there, because those are what we're 1008 00:42:24,150 --> 00:42:28,350 trusting in in our life, for our salvation, for our sanctification, 1009 00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:30,200 for every element of our life. 1010 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:33,080 And so I hope that that's an encouragement for you here this evening. 1011 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:37,240 We'll come back, we'll look more In Joshua, chapter 15, the inheritance 1012 00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:40,680 of Judah, and ultimately we'll see more about the inheritance of 1013 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,600 Caleb in, in the next chapter or so. 1014 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,680 And then there will be some chapters that we skim through because 1015 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:50,440 a lot of it is just telling us about different lands that are given 1016 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:51,960 to certain people and not. 1017 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,440 They're not important, but there are certain places that we 1018 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:55,800 will go a little bit quicker through. 1019 00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:59,280 But then we will hit a few different passages of scripture that 1020 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:03,320 specifically speak to standing fast in the truth of what God has 1021 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:03,800 given us. 1022 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,880 And Joshua challenges the people to make a. 1023 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:07,920 To make a decision. 1024 00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:10,320 And I'm excited to get to that passage. 1025 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:12,600 Well, we're going to go ahead and close in a word of prayer. 1026 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:14,640 After I'm done praying, I'll have a few announcements and then 1027 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:15,440 we'll be dismissed. 1028 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:16,600 Lord, I thank you for this time. 1029 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,000 Thank you for the opportunity this evening to study your word, 1030 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,920 Lord, we're thankful for the opportunity to know you and to know 1031 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,280 your promises, to know your power, to know your provisions, to 1032 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:30,360 know your presence, Lord, to know that faith is the victory that 1033 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:31,480 we come to in our life. 1034 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:33,280 And Lord, may we not live in fear. 1035 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,560 May we not be like those 10 spies who lived in fear and missed 1036 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:38,840 out on the blessings of God. 1037 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:42,120 May we be the ones that walk in faith and walk in your will and 1038 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:45,480 risk things on our side to see the certainty of your promises in 1039 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:46,000 our life. 1040 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:47,200 So we thank you for that. 1041 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:48,720 I pray that you bless us here this week. 1042 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:51,840 I pray that you speak to us where we need to be spoken to. 1043 00:43:52,180 --> 00:43:55,700 And Lord, help us to be able to proclaim your word and your truth 1044 00:43:55,700 --> 00:43:58,980 at whatever capacity that we are living in our life, whether it 1045 00:43:58,980 --> 00:44:01,740 be through our workplaces, through our families, through our 1046 00:44:01,740 --> 00:44:02,460 personal lives. 1047 00:44:02,460 --> 00:44:06,420 Lord, may it just be a beacon of light to a lost and dying world 1048 00:44:06,420 --> 00:44:07,300 that's in darkness. 1049 00:44:07,460 --> 00:44:09,740 So we just ask all these things in Jesus name. 1050 00:44:09,740 --> 00:44:10,260 Amen. 1051 00:44:11,380 --> 00:44:13,940 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1052 00:44:13,940 --> 00:44:14,580 podcast. 1053 00:44:14,820 --> 00:44:17,140 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1054 00:44:18,030 --> 00:44:20,150 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1055 00:44:20,150 --> 00:44:23,630 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1056 00:44:23,870 --> 00:44:26,430 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1057 00:44:27,150 --> 00:44:31,670 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1058 00:44:31,670 --> 00:44:36,070 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 1059 00:44:36,070 --> 00:44:38,910 along for future podcasts and updates. 1060 00:44:39,550 --> 00:44:40,510 Thank you so much. 1061 00:44:40,750 --> 00:44:41,470 God Bless. 1062 00:44:41,710 --> 00:44:42,990 Have a wonderful day.