Pastor Scott Applegate
“The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.” Judges 1:19-20 NIV
Ordinary people become extraordinary when they follow God wholeheartedly
Wholehearted: “fully, completely, sincerely, energetic, hearty”
- Caleb’s expression of wholehearted devotion
“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30 NIV
- God’s response to Caleb’s wholehearted devotion
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Numbers 14:24 NIV
- God’s blessing to Caleb for His faith and wholehearted devotion
“Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.” Joshua 14:13-14 NIV
How to follow wholeheartedly like Caleb:
- See through the eyes of faith rather than the eyes of fear
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,” Ephesians 1:18 NIV
- Faith is not a desire, a feeling, or bargaining with God
- Faith is having God’s perspective and taking Him at His word
“To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 GNT
When I see through the eyes of fear rather than faith:
- I make my problems bigger than my God
“We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!” Numbers 13:27-28 NLT
“We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.” Numbers 13:31-32 NLT
TT: Faith shrinks my problems and puts God in His rightful place. (Luke 1:37, Matthew 17:20-21)
- I forget my real identity
“We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” Numbers 13:33 NLT
TT: Faith causes me to believe who God says I am rather than the other negative messages I have heard all my life. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 4:13)
- I get discouraged and offer my complaints
“Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.” Numbers 14:1-2 NLT
TT: Faith is strengthened in the desert of doubt and disappointment.
- I eventually blame God for my problems
“Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” Numbers 14:3 NLT
TT: Faith causes me to realize that problems are simply opportunities for God to deepen my faith. (James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5)
- Faith doesn’t take me out of my problem, faith gets me through it
- Faith doesn’t negate the pain of my problem, faith helps me endure it
- See life through the hope of eternity rather than the hope of the temporal
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
TT: Faith and hope remind me that I am not in heaven yet, that I need to keep pressing on toward the real promise land. Faith and hope make room for the struggles of life because my hope is not in this life but the life to come.