• The phrase “followed the Lord completely” is used 6 times in scripture to describe Caleb’s life.
• Key events from the life of Caleb
o Numbers 14 – one of the spies sent to spy out Promised Land
o One of only 2 people from that generation allowed to enter the Promised land
o Joshua 14 – Caleb’s land request after the conquest. I want the giants!
1. Caleb followed the Lord despite the
A. Caleb viewed circumstances through the
Numbers 13:30 “But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” (NLT)
• Caleb saw the same circumstances as the other 10 spies who were giving the negative report
• Caleb believed the
• Living with the eyes of faith is not simply wishful, positive thinking. It is the thinking and resulting behavior based upon the truth of the word of God. Caleb was simply believing what God had already said was true.
B. Following the Lord completely
• Sometimes we simply need God to open our eyes to the
• Summarize II Kings 6
II Kings 6:16-17 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (NLT)
• We need to
• Circumstances are often
Will we only see the circumstances or will we see the promises of God? We all face faith vs. circumstances tests.
• The story of Foothills has been one faith vs circumstance test after another.
• Allowing circumstances to determine the size of our faith and the direction of our behavior is calling God a
2. Caleb followed the Lord despite the
A. Caleb was willing to stand with the
Numbers 14:10 “But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb…” (NLT)
• At this point in the story, it was possibly 3 million people against 4. A very intimidating situation.
• Even in the face of potential death, Caleb didn’t change his conviction. We need to remember; he didn’t know how the story was going to play out.
B. Following the Lord completely
• God did not send His Son Jesus and save us in order for us to blend in. He saved us through Christ to
Matt. 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (NLT)
• We live in one of the most unchurched areas in the United States
• God did not call Foothills into existence to blend in to worldly culture or existing church culture.
• The church must stop working so hard trying to
3. Caleb followed the Lord despite the
Numbers 14:29-30 “You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. 30 You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” (NLT)
A. Caleb remained faithful even while he waited
• Caleb had to wait another 40 years for another opportunity to go into the promise land. It would have been easy to quit and give up.
• Imagine what this must have been like. Caleb saw the promised land. He walked in it for 40 days. He ate the resources. He saw the cities he would someday live in. Now, he had to wait 40 years. To be this close only to wait for so long.
• What does God have you waiting for? Can you keep following Him in obedience even while you wait?
B. Following the Lord completely requires
Ps. 37:34 “Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land…” (NASB)
• Faithfulness over time = fulfillment
• It is one thing to remain faithful when we see
Can we remain faithful even in seasons where we see none? Can we stay the course while we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled?
• Sometimes we simply
Heb. 10:35-36 “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” (NLT)
4. Caleb followed the Lord completely and was rewarded
A. God gave Caleb the
Josh. 14:10-12 “Now, as you can see, the LORD has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said.” (NLT)
• This request speaks volumes of who Caleb was
o He didn’t want land already conquered
o He didn’t want some type of retirement plan…something easy
o He wanted the hardest, most feared area there was. He wanted the land of the giants.
o He wanted to conquer the very area that put fear in to the entire nation 45 years earlier.
o He wanted what his heart had been longing about for 45 years
o God gave Caleb the thing his heart wanted most
B. Following the Lord completely results in
Ps. 37:3-4 “Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (NLT)
• The end result of faithfulness is fulfillment.
• We must reject the lie that says following Jesus in faithfulness over the years will leave us unsatisfied.
• Fulfillment is not always a passive thing. There are times when God gives us the green light to go out and possess what he has promised. There are times we wait and then there are times we go out and possess like Caleb.
• This is why we follow the voice of our Shepherd. When He stops, we stop. When He moves we move with Him. Wise is the person and church who can discern the difference.
II Chron. 16:9 “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…” (NLT)