The Wholehearted Follower

Your future, it can seem mysterious and frightening. But there's good news. God has a promised land for you to move into, courageously and fearlessly. And the book of Joshua shows you how it can happen. How to live your promised land life. Good morning. Good morning, balcony. Thank you very much. My name is Mark, one of the pastors here. And I want to welcome all of you, all of you here in this room, those of you that are over next door in venue, tuning in online, public access TV. Glad that you are a part of church.

And I want to invite you to grab the message notes that you received on your way in. Or if you want to download those to the TLC app, you can just download the notes right to your phone. But we are in a series called Promised Land Life, which is based in the Old Testament book of Joshua. There's a huge theme in the book of Joshua. It's this tension between faith and fear. In fact, right out of the gate, chapter 1, verse 9, we've seen this verse before. But God says to Joshua, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

And this is so important. This is huge to this book because bear in mind, it was fear that set off a rebellion among the Israelites, which led to them missing out on entering the Promised Land when they could have. In fact, their entrance was delayed for 40 years due to fear. An entire generation missed out on the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. And you know what? They didn't get a do-over. Their kids did. But that first generation, they missed out. So this is no small thing.

In fact, the question that I would encourage us all to ponder this morning is this one. What drives you? What drives you? Is it faith or is it fear? Because faith is energizing. But fear is crippling. Faith expands our horizons and our outlook and even our lives. But fear causes us to wither and retreat. And so again, it's no small question to ask. What drives you?

Now to be clear, I'm not suggesting that all fears are bad. Just as there can be unhealthy or toxic forms of faith-- and we're kind of aware of those-- just as there can be unhealthy faith, on the other hand, there can be healthy fears. There are some things that you ought to be afraid of. For example, you might have seen this last month in the news. There's a report of a little boy in Texas who discovered this rattlesnake slithering out of his toilets. Yeah. Four years old. You have to think that this really disrupted the whole potty training thing, right? I mean, it's like, I'm over that, man. I'm never going back to there. There he is right there.

But I love this guy because in typical boy fashion, first response is he tries to flush it down the toilet. Worked with my toys. But apparently, this rattlesnake's a very persistent swimmer. And sometime after they decided it was a good time to take this picture, it actually slithers out onto the floor. Yeah. And fortunately, though, big brother and mom, armed with an array of garden tools, are able to dispatch the snake. And when the dad hears about this, he thinks it might be a good idea to have the home protected, which turned out to be a really good idea because there were 23 other rattlers living under their feet. Yeah. Yikes. And I have to say, that's just one of the reasons that I would rather live here than Texas. Just one.

But we have our own things to contend with. Just two weeks ago, I was paddling out to surf with my good friend Dennis. And it was kind of a windy day, a lot of glare. And I'm about halfway out to the lineup. And this fin crosses in front of me. And it happened so fast. A couple of things-- first of all, it didn't have that up and down porpoise thing going on. It was like the conning tower of a sub. It just kind of went whoosh and submerged about 20 feet in front of me. And I'm telling myself, what chances are, it was just a large dolphin. But I'm also aware of the fact that there are other creatures in the sea.

So I'm paddling out. And I get to the lineup. And Dennis is already there. He's the only person that's out. And just as he turns around on his board, he looks back at me. And he goes, whoa! What was that? And I said, you didn't happen to just see a fin. He goes, yeah, right behind you. So yes, there are some fears that are reasonable to have in this life. And I don't know what you think of surfers in general. But you have to give us credit for this. Surfing is one of the rare sports that actually requires you to enter into the food chain. You know what I'm saying?

So now, I'm very happy-- I don't want to keep you in suspense. So I'm very happy to report to you all that we were not eaten on that day. And it turned out, in fact, it was several very large dolphins, some of the biggest ones I've ever seen. And they were herding a school of fish right where we're sitting. And so for the next 20 minutes, we're right in the middle of their meal as they're just starting back and forth. And so then our fear kind of shifted to more kind of a low-level anxiety that they might confuse our toes with an anchovy.

So again, not all fear is unreasonable. The question is really this-- where do you live most of your life? What really dominates your mindset? Is it fear or is it faith? Now, to inspire and instruct us this morning, a really wonderful example in today's text-- he's really the poster boy of bold faith. And I'm aware I really shouldn't call him a boy because this guy is a man. He is a man's man. He is bold. He is courageous. He is strong. He is a man of faith. He is a man named Caleb.

And I want you to see what God himself says about Caleb. This is God telling us a little bit about Caleb. Way back in Numbers 14, it says, "My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly." I find that incredible because it's one thing to distinguish yourself in the eyes of other people, but Caleb is singled out by God for having this wholehearted faith that follows God with all his heart. Now, do you think that our world could use just a few more people that had that kind of wholehearted faith? I should do.

In fact, if you're here, you're tuning in, I have to think that this idea, it appeals to you. I mean, that's presumably why you're in church today, because you want your faith to grow and become stronger. And can you imagine how incredible it would be to hear God say, oh, you know, my servant Valerie, my servant Robert, my servant Marsha. They have a different spirit. Follow me wholeheartedly. Wow. I mean, again, I'm sure that has some appeal for you. It does for me, because I don't want the final word on Mark to be, yeah, Mark. He followed me half-heartedly or less than half-heartedly. I mean, and I'm sure the same is true for you.

So how do we get there? How do we nourish and nurture and strengthen our faith? Well, we're going to see some things in Caleb's life, three things I want to point out this morning that really set Caleb apart, and it's in Joshua chapter 14. And the first thing that I want you to see, and I've been somewhat forecasting this, is that wholehearted followers live in faith instead of fear. They live in their faith instead of fear. And I want you to see how this plays out, because so far, the book of Joshua, it's been reading like an action novel.

If you've been with us for the last several weeks, you know, it starts in the heels of Moses' death, and there's this uncertainty, but they rally themselves, and they cross the Jordan, and they march around Jericho, and they have a couple setbacks, but then they have a string of victory. And you get to about the middle of the book, right around chapter 13. Now they're kind of consolidating their successes. In fact, this action novel shifts, and it turns into more like a land survey. For the next several chapters, the subject is going to be which tribes live where. They're going to divvy up the land. And it's a big process, and Joshua and the high priest of Israel are presiding over this.

And the particular system, the procedure that they used for most of the tribes was that they were to draw lots to find out what land that they would get. It was a literal lottery for their inheritance, but that's not really going to do for Caleb. Caleb is not going to let his inheritance come down to a roll of the dice, so to speak. And so imagine this big board meeting that just goes on for days and days and days, and then all of a sudden here comes Caleb. He kind of storms in with his clan, and it says this starting at verse 6, chapter 14. It says, "Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb, son of Jephena, the kenizite, said to him, 'You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions. But my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear.'

Caleb is hearkening back to a story in Numbers 13 and 14. And he's saying, Joshua, you remember, God sent you and me and 10 other guys, and they were the elite leaders of their tribes. They were like a special ops team. And he says, you remember, Joshua, we went into this very same promised land, and we spied it out, and we discovered it was very much a land flowing with milk and honey. It was so rich and verdant. And yes, we also saw no shortage of Canaanites living in their fortified cities. We even saw-- remember, Joshua, we saw the sons of Anak, those freakishly tall guys. But when we came back, it was you and me only that said, we can do this. Let's go. God has promised us this land. We can't fail.

But do you remember, Joshua? Do you remember the other 10? "The sooner had they opened their mouths, the people's hearts began to melt with fear, and that fear, it spread like wildfire." And we spent the next 40 years in the wilderness because of the fear of those 10 guys. Remember that, Joshua? You see, here's the thing about fear. Fear isn't just personally uncomfortable or paralyzing. Fear affects others. Fear is contagious, in fact. You know, there's a book a couple of years ago that came out called How to Become a Contagious Christian. It was all about having a warm, welcoming, authentic Christ-like faith that is-- it's attractive to other people. But just as faith can be contagious, fear is, too. Invariably, it is contagious.

So it doesn't just affect you. It affects those around you. And in this saga, 12 men all saw the exact same thing, but they did not give the same report, did they? In fact, it's never just about the facts. It's always about how we frame them. So how do you frame your circumstances? What lenses do you choose to apply? And I'm mindful. I'm mindful of the fact that there may be some of us-- you struggle with anxiety on a chronic level, and I'm mindful of that. And I'm also aware that some of us may have gone through severe trauma, and so the idea of fear is something that is especially difficult.

But in general, I think most of us, it comes down to which lenses we choose to apply to our circumstances. You can have two people. They have the exact same circumstances. One sees opportunity. The other sees only problems. One sees what there is to gain. The other, only what there is to lose. So again, how do you frame things? Where do you typically live, in your faith or in your fear? Notice what Caleb says. He says, "I brought him--" that's Moses. "I brought him back a report according to my convictions." In the original Hebrew, that word "convictions" is literally "heart." I just shared from my heart what I saw and what I thought we should do. And that's how Caleb lived life. That's how he rolled, how he saw things. He'd all flowed from a heart that was full of faith.

And you know what? The exact same thing is true of all of us. We will always live out what resides in our heart. Our lives will flow from whatever is in our heart. So again, what's dominating your heart this morning? I want you to look back at Caleb. He says in verse 10-- or excuse me, second part of verse 8, in contrast to these other 10 men. He says, "I, however, I followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me the land on which your feet of walk will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly." Now, you don't have to be a Bible scholar to see what the emphasis is there.

Caleb followed the Lord how? Wholeheartedly. I mean, that's his legacy, a legacy of living in his faith instead of his fear. But you know what? That didn't just happen day one. And he wasn't just born with this remarkable faith. It was something that he developed that he grew over time. And in fact, it's something that is directly related to the second characteristic that you will see in the life of a wholehearted follower, because wholehearted followers invariably latch on to God's promises. Without exception, they latch on to God's promises.

Do you know why they call it the promised land? It's not a trick question. It's promised land. 430 years before this story, God tells Abraham, "I am going to give the land of Canaan to your descendants." Now, Abraham never saw that day, but he knew it would come. And in fact, that promise is reiterated no less than 170 times in scripture. And so if Caleb knows anything, if he's convinced of anything, it's that God will keep his promises. And it's with this confidence in God's promises that he says-- what happens next, dear? I love this part of the story. He says, "Now then," still talking to Joshua here, "now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. I'm just as vigorous to go out to do battle now as I was then."

Isn't that great? He's like 85 years old. He is raring to go. He's like, let me out, man. I'm still as tough as I was 45 years ago. And he really reminds me of a gentleman we had in this church some years ago, a man named Sid Osenga. Anyone remember Sid Osenga? A few of us do. Sid was a World War II veteran. He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. And he spent many years thereafter working as a painter at Mount Herman. In fact, Sid probably painted every building at Mount Herman like twice in the long run there. And he was just a remarkable guy. He would serve as a greeter here at Twin Lakes, especially for our Saturday night service.

And this was back in the days when we had our Saturday night service over in Munsky Hall next door where all of you and Venue are at. And he was like the perfect greeter because he was, oh, he's so warm and welcoming. He had this great big smile. And over there, everyone enters and exits through the same door. And so one thing's for sure. If you came on a Saturday night, Sid was going to greet you. And he was going to greet you good. I mean, he's just enthusiastic and shake your hand. And so every time I would go in for the Saturday night service, I'd stop. I'd talk with Sid. We'd catch up. And guaranteed, at some point in that conversation, Sid would do this. He'd kind of flex his bicep like this. He goes, hey, Mark, look out. Steel kicks like a mule.

And he had some guns, no doubt about it. But if I have to think that Caleb's going to cut from the same cloth, Caleb and Sid here, because here's Caleb 85 basically saying, you know what, steel kicks like a mule. Now, not to take anything away from that. I'm sure he was quite the stud. But you have to think that there were men half his age or a third his age in that assembly that were actually physically stronger than Caleb. Again, steel kicked like a mule, but it probably kicked harder at 25. But here's Caleb's secret. Caleb's greatest strength was never physical. Never was. Caleb's greatest strength was spiritual.

We live in a culture that idolizes physical fitness and prowess. And hey, I'm all for exercising and taking care of yourself. That's a great thing. But you know what? It pales in importance to your physical strength. Paul says, yeah, physical training, it's of some value. Spiritual strength is a value in this age and into the next. So this is something that I hope we would want to embrace and give much priority to. And you know what? Caleb was spiritually tough for another reason. And it's this. I'm confident of this. It's because Caleb suffered. He came by his spiritual toughness honestly. Caleb was born a slave in Egypt. In fact, the first 40 years of his life, he lived as a slave doing backbreaking labor.

And then the next 40 years of his life, he spends in the wilderness due to no fault of his own. And so you know, Caleb knows all too well things do not always break your way. And he could have spent his time feeling sorry for himself or blaming everyone else. And yet it becomes the crucible for strengthening his faith. It becomes perhaps what gives him this great confidence that God will keep his promises. And you see this again when he says in verse 12, "Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified. But the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." Who said that? God said that. And he's just latched onto that promise.

And you know what? It's one thing to believe a promise. It's another thing to claim a promise. Now I'm not talking about, you know, name and claim it and kind of kooky theology you might see on some televangelist show or something like that. What I am talking about is the conviction that leads to a change in our action or outlook. In fact, I would suggest to you that you don't really believe something unless it somehow informs your behavior. It somehow changes your life or your attitude until it does that I question whether we really believe something. And so you see through this passage, Caleb is changing his outlook, his priority, what he says based on the fact that he believes this to be true.

I was talking earlier this week with René about the legacy of his own mother. And if his mom Rosemary, if there was one promise that she latched onto in life, it was this one, it's that the Lord will provide. If you've been here for any length of time, you've heard René talk about this and even say in his mother's Swiss accent, see Lord will provide. You know, she had to come to that conviction in the crucible of losing her husband when she had René, a four-year-old, and his sister Heidi a year and a half. This wasn't some sort of theoretical thing. Is God going to show up or is God not going to show up? And again, you've been here for a while. You've heard René tell about when the pantry was empty, the fridge was bare. They didn't know what they were going to eat the next day, or he and his sister needed new shoes for school, but they didn't have the money to pay for it.

And his mom would just sit them down. And they would ask. They would pray. And they would remind themselves that the Lord will provide. And as I was talking to René about this, I said to him, you know, you would not be the man you are today. You wouldn't be doing what you're doing if you had not been formed in those circumstances, if you had not had a front row seat to your mother's faith. And in today's passage with Caleb, he doesn't deny that there aren't still challenges ahead. I mean, this land that he wants to go occupy, there are still the sons of Anak living there. The Anakites, he says, are still there, living in their fortified cities. These, again, freakishly tall guys.

In fact, if you're aware of the story of David and Goliath, probably most, if not all of you are, it's most likely that Goliath was a descendant of these same folks, the Anakites. Because in Joshua 11, it says that there were pockets of Anakites in a number of cities. And one of them was a city named Gath, which was Goliath's hometown. So bottom line, this is a tough neighborhood, right? Tough neighborhood. And yet he says, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out-- there it is again-- just as he said. Let me ask you this morning, what has God promised you?

And if you're having a hard time recalling some things, let me just help you take a little bit of inventory. He's promised to love you with an everlasting love. No matter who you are, what your past, what you've done, he's promised to love you always. He's promised to never leave nor forsake you. He's present with you in every second, every moment, of every day. And in that, he's giving you power. He's giving you the daily grace that you need to get through. He's providing for you according to what you really need, even if it's not what you really want. He promises you to forgive you. He promises eternal life. Can we lean into those promises this morning? Can we lean into them?

In fact, you want to know how to live by faith instead of fear? It's not only that you latch onto these promises, but you lean into God's blessing. That's my third and final point for you. Wholehearted followers, they lean into God's blessings. And I know that some may assume or presume upon God too much. And again, perhaps you've seen this, where the thought is, as long as you believe hard enough, God is obligated to give you whatever you want. Believing to an extreme level just removes God's option of saying no or wait or anything like that. That's presuming upon God. That's trying to turn God into your genie.

But while it's possible to assume or presume too much upon God, I think for some of us, we make the mistake on the other side. We expect too little. We just expect that you're up in heaven, you're making the world turn, but I'm pretty much on my own to make life work. I was very much this way in my younger years, especially in my college years. I don't know quite what it was, but it was-- my going assumption-- I wouldn't have articulated it this way, but my going assumption was, Jesus, you saved my soul. That's awesome. And now, I guess, I got it from here. I got this. And I really expected just the bare minimum from the Lord.

It began to change, again, while I was in college. I got a job working at a wholesale plant nursery, and the owner of that nursery was this man named Patrick O'Brien. Patrick O'Brien, he talked like this, had an accent from the fatherland. And sometimes he would say, always after me, lucky charms. I wanted him to say that. He never did. But he was such a delightful and devoted follower of Jesus. Had such a great impact on my own faith, because faith is contagious. I can remember one day I was going to go work in a particular area. I was going to repot some plants. And right in the middle of that area, there's this mama quail, and she's just got this clutch of brand new baby chicks they've just hatched. Just tiny. They're popping up around her and stuff like that.

And as I'm kind of looking at them, somehow, mysteriously, maybe using his leprechaun powers, Pat's just like, phew, he's right next to me. And he just kind of speaks into my ear, and he goes, ah, lad. Called me and all the other guys said, lads, where is lads? He goes, ah, lad. Aren't the lords creatures magnificent? Let's just go work elsewhere for now. That's the way he was. This is a great guy. Another time when we would be loading up the trucks for deliveries, and some of the trees were big pots and containers. And if we tried to take one on that was too big, he'd come running and got me going, ah, laddies, laddies. He goes, if you ever want the lord to bless you with children, don't be trying to lift so much weight. To this day, I never quite get the connection between the two.

Pat was looking out for his lads. Best memory of all was the time when Pat wanted to expand the operation, but he needed to punch a new well to get more water. And the well-drigger kept striking out, which you pay the well guy the same, whether he hits water or not. And each time that they would have an unsuccessful attempt, Pat would say, well, lads, the lord didn't give us a well today. And that's how he would frame it. He would frame it through that lens of faith, which is, man, if the lord gives us a well and he was praying for a well, that would be a blessing. But if he didn't, he stayed at peace. He was like, well, then the lord has other plans for us. The lord is still good.

Never forget the Saturday morning, drive into the nursery, pull into where we all park. And there's Pat. He's doing a jig. He's like, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. Something like that. He was happy. He's bouncing up and down. No sooner I get out of the car and he says, I mark. The lord gave us a well and she's a beauty. And then I'm dancing off. But that was Pat. Not presuming. It wasn't like God owed him a well. But leaning in prayerfully, hopefully, that God might just bless him. Because here's the thing. Pat was convinced that, like it says in James, every good and perfect gift comes from the father. And so that's how he lived his life.

And I think that enthusiasm that I saw that day, that I saw for everything that happened in his days there at the nursery, had to have been something like the way Caleb felt when finally, after 45 years, after hearing that promise from Moses, it says this, verses 13 and 14. "Then Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephne, and gave him Hebron as his inheritance." So Hebron has belonged to Caleb, son of Jephne, the kenizite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. Again, Caleb didn't wait for this blessing to fall from the sky. He leaned into it, didn't he? He pursued it with boldness.

Because again, there's something to be said for, I don't know, leaning in, wanting to experience all that God has for you. And I want to encourage you. I want to just talk about some of the blessings that God offers us as we close here today. Because as impressive as Caleb is, and again, he has a legacy of this wholehearted faith, the truth is there is only one perfect wholehearted follower of the Father. His name is Jesus Christ. And Caleb's great, a wonderful example, very encouraging, but we need more than just a good example. We need a Savior.

And when the eternal Son of God came into this world and became one of us, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, he followed the will of the Father perfectly every moment of his life, even obediently up to the top of another hill, a hill that's about 20 miles north of Hebron, where he would volunteer his life on a cross, where he would take upon himself your sins and my sins willingly, obediently, subject himself to death. And then he would rise on the third day so that we would know that our greatest enemy, sin and even death, have been defeated by our risen Lord. And it is that blessing that he extends to you and to me that he offers.

And he says, I offer you the greatest inheritance of all. I offer you the opportunity to become the sons and daughters of God, just like Caleb was. Now, wow, is that a blessing that we can be leaning into, that can transform our lives and our perspective and our priorities and how we live life and the decisions we make. Because we're leaning into that, we are embracing it with all that we are in the power of his spirit. I hope that you are transformed by that blessing and that it just completely changes your outlook, including the things that you fear.

Maybe there's something specific that you're thinking of, a fear, a worry, an anxiety. That can be really, really tough. I don't mean to make light of that at all. But would you be willing this morning to simply take that fear and place it in the hands of the one who's far more capable, far stronger than you and I could ever imagine to be and to say, he's my father and he is good. And so I will trust him. Would you be willing to do that? I'm going to give you an opportunity in just a moment. But let me just leave you with this blessing. This really sums up what we've been looking at. This is the words of the Apostle Paul when he says to the Thessalonians in his first letter to them. He said, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Amen? Amen.

Would you pray with me this morning? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for your word and the spirit that illumines it into our hearts and our minds. I pray, Lord, that as we open ourselves in a welcoming way to what you have for us, as we-- just in terms of the attitude of our heart, lean in and latch on to what you have for us, Lord. I pray that you'd fill us with peace. I pray that you'd fill us with confidence. I pray that you would strengthen us and build us up and that more and more and more of the territory of our hearts would belong to you.

Lord, I'm mindful of my brothers and sisters in this room or next door or listening, tuning in somehow, that there are hurts and fears, unrequited desires. I pray for them, Lord. I pray that they would simply be able to rest in this moment, knowing that you hear them, that you love them, that you're with them. Give them, Lord, what they need in this moment. I pray for the one or many, Lord, who-- they're on the periphery of faith. They're here or they're listening because they're attracted to you, Jesus. But there are things in their lives that are obstacles. And one of those is fear, fear because they don't know everything they think they might need to know about you, or fear that they might have to give things up, that they don't know they can live without.

Lord, I pray that your perfect love would cast out those fears. And as they would be willing to say, Jesus, I trust you. I trust that if you were willing to give yourself up for me on a cross, and that if you were alive today, and I believe you are, Lord, I can be assured one thing. I can be assured that the God of this universe is committed to me. So I want to commit myself to you. Lord, would you allow those in their own way to express this to you and say, I want to follow you as my Lord and Savior, Jesus. Wherever we're at, Lord, I thank you that you know, and that you meet us there, and that you make a difference. And so I pray your peace, and your grace, and your strength upon this congregation. And I ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.