← ArchiveUNDEFEATEDFaith That Makes a DifferenceDateFebruary 28, 2021SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextJoshua 14Passages in this sermonJoshua 143:28Numbers 149:26Ephesians 1329:37TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00*music* *music*0:20*music* Okay, my name is Josh Burnham, lead pastor here. And I have the joy of bringing the word of Christ to you and to those watching online. So we have one mission here at Bethel and we say it this way. Our heart is to share the whole gospel with the whole person. That's all of you, all of your lives and around the world.0:47And you might say, "Well, what is the gospel?" Here it is in one sentence, "Jesus in our place." That's the good news. So I can't wait to share a word from the Lord today. For those who are watching online, we want to welcome them. I called a friend this week who has, she's going through chemo. And she's not been here because of that. And so I just want us to make those that are online who can't come here physically,1:13let them know that they're welcome here this morning. So she knows who she is and I've been praying for that dear friend. I can't wait. Hopefully in June when all of this is over for them, they'll be here again. And what a great day that will be. So a man named Jay Spites from New Jersey recently discovered, this is in 2019, that he had an unusual inheritance.1:34Like many of you, he took a DNA test and it showed that he had royal blood. Now let me just stop here and say, if I take a DNA test and I have royal blood, you'll never hear the end of it. I'm going to ask you to call me king or at least prince or the artist or something, right?2:01And what's interesting about Jay is he lived in an apartment and he did not even own his own car. And so he took a flight to Africa, to Benin. And he was welcomed like royalty because he was royalty. When he first arrived, he saw that there was a festival. Hundreds of people were dancing. And there was a parade.2:30And it took him several minutes to realize that this party was for him. He was not used to his lineage. When he gets on the ground, they hung up banners, they held a parade. And they had to send him to class, a princing class, because he had never been a prince before. And as I was reading that story, I began to think this. For Jay, Mr. Spites, his DNA was a reminder of the inheritance he had that he never knew.2:59The DNA was a deposit that he had royal blood, even though he didn't realize it. That was his guarantee. And in Jesus Christ, you have even a greater inheritance than this. You have an even greater inheritance. And so today, as we look at Joshua 14.3:28So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and make your way to Joshua 14. And as we look at Caleb, a man receiving his inheritance. I want to remind you that in Jesus Christ, there are eternal promises. There is security. And that the Holy Spirit is God's deposit in you that he will not give up on you. That what he started in Jesus Christ, he will carry to completion.3:55And so you have something in your soul that God is using to bring to remembrance his inheritance in your life. If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. And if he's not, our prayer is that today you would come to faith. Our prayer is that you would say, I want this Jesus. I want this royal blood. I want this eternal royal blood.4:23That's why Jesus died. His blood was shed that you might be adopted into a kingly family. So we're continuing a sermon series in the book of Joshua called "Undefeated." And today's message is simple. It's a faith that makes a difference. Faith that makes a difference. So let me read Joshua 14, beginning in verse 6.4:50"The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenesite, said to him, "Joshua, you know what the Lord promised Moses, the man of God at Kadesh Barnea, about you and me. I was 45 years old when Moses, the Lord's servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to scout the land5:16and brought back an honest report." Circle that word, honest. We're going to come back to that. "My brothers who went with me caused the people to lose heart. But I followed the Lord my God completely." You want to remember that word, too, completely. "On that day, Moses swore to me, the land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you5:40and your descendants forever, because you have followed the Lord my God completely." "As you see, the Lord kept me alive these 45 years as he promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness." Here I am today, 85 years old. Some of you take courage by that.6:09Listen to what Caleb says. "I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily task is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country, the Lord promised me on that day. Because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as the large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord promised."6:38Then Joshua blessed Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and he gave him Hebron as an inheritance. Therefore, Hebron still belongs to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenesite, as an inheritance today. Because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, completely. Hebron's name used to be Kiriath Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.7:07But after this, the land had rest from war. Let's pray. Father, we desire to be a man, to be women like Caleb. Eighty-five years old, and his zeal for you had not changed. Eighty-five years old, and his faith remained. Eighty-five years old, and he was not content to do nothing.7:33But Lord, he wanted to live every day with a faith that mattered. Lord, would that be our prayer today. Father, may we not read your word, and close it, and go on in our normal lives. But Lord, would you do something in our hearts? Would you do something in our lives that we will live out the hope and the truth of the resurrection? Lord, give us faith that matters.8:01Give us faith that makes a difference. Lord, we thank you for hearing our prayers. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. A faith that matters. So this passage is a paradigm in the book of Joshua. It's the people of God receiving an inheritance and a promise that was 600 years in the making. God promises Abraham, "I will give you lots of kids, and lots of kids need lots of places to play and live."8:28So with seed comes land. And 600 years later, the people of God and Joshua are now receiving the promise and the inheritance that they've waited for. And this is one of five stories in the book of Joshua where people ask God for their inheritance. So if you need something of the Lord, don't be afraid to ask.8:55Is that not what Jesus says? Ask and you will receive. And so Caleb takes that literally. So don't be afraid to ask of the Lord. So here we find a man named Caleb whose name means dog. And he makes a bold request. Now you'll be forgiven if you don't remember who Caleb is.9:22Because in Numbers 14, Caleb spies out the land. And he comes back and he gives a report. An honest report, the CSB says. But from that moment on, Caleb does not speak in Scripture. So what you're reading in verse 6 is the first time that Caleb has spoken in two books. And so listen to what he says.9:52I'm reminded anytime someone is silent in Scripture and they suddenly speak, pay attention. Look at what Joshua hears. Caleb says, "You know what the Lord promised the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me." I think about this. How could Joshua ever forget? This is the moment where everyone else was unfaithful.10:20And God tells Moses, "Everyone's going to die." Your grandpa, your dad, you, this entire rebellious generation is going to die. And oh, by the way, Moses, because of your disobedience later, you're not going to enter into the promised land. But there's only two men in all of the generation that will live to see it. Joshua and Caleb.10:49So I can imagine Caleb saying, "Joshua, you remember. Don't you remember what the Lord promised us?" Although it's easy to forget Caleb because he's not speaking until this moment, Caleb never forgets the promises of God in his life. So how do you live a faith that matters? Remember and hold on to the promises of God.11:17You say, "Well, it's been 45 years." Look at Caleb. He's still holding on to what God had promised him in his life. Well, it's been 400 years. Look at Caleb. Over 600 years, God is slowly delivering what he has promised because God is faithful. A man named Thomas Brooks said this about Satan and then about God. About Satan's promises, he says, "Satan promises the best to you, but he pays with the worst.11:47Satan will promise you honor, and he pays you with disgrace. Satan promises pleasure, but he pays you with pain. Satan promises you profit, but he pays with loss. Satan promises life, but he pays with death.12:13But God pays as he promises. All of his payments are made in pure gold." I love that. If God has promised you something, you can take it to the bank. And Caleb is here saying, "Don't you remember? Don't you remember the promise that God made to me?" Listen, a faith that makes the difference is a faith that clings tightly to the promises of Christ12:41and never gives up on those promises. Hold tightly to the promises of God in your life. And as we look at Caleb, we see something different right from the get-go. The Scriptures tell us that Caleb was one of only two spies that comes back from the Promised Land that gives an honest report.13:10So literally, in Hebrew, this means that he gives a report with his heart. Now, what's different about Caleb? For Caleb, I think for Caleb, his faith in Yahweh is not merely a theological construct. For Caleb, faith in God, for us, faith in Jesus Christ has practical implications. So I say it this way, a faith that makes a difference is not a faith that stays in the synagogue.13:37It's not a faith that stays in seminary. It's not a faith that stays in the sanctuary. It's a faith that lives in the streets. It's easy to have faith right now, isn't it? But wait till you go out these doors. Caleb would say a faith that matters is a faith where you follow God completely. Live in the street.14:07So he brings back an honest report. You know what I find fascinating that Caleb is mentioned here as following God. He follows God. And we said it three times. We read it, right? In verse 8, it says that Caleb himself, the first person, says, "I followed my God completely."14:29Later on, we see again what we see in verse 8 and we see in verse 9. He says, "God promises to Moses because Caleb has followed the Lord my God completely." And then again, look at verse 14.14:56"Therefore, Hebron still belongs to the people of Caleb today because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel completely." What Caleb teaches us is that we're often prone to say this, "God, you know I'm a sinner. You know I fail often. So God, forgive me when I fail you." This is what Caleb would tell us.15:26Caleb would say that a God who is only worth half your heart is not worthy of your worship. Sometimes we fail before we start. We just assume we're going to fail. And Caleb says, "No, with the power of Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your life, you can follow God fully and completely." God who is only worth some of our heart, some of our obedience is not worthy of our worship.15:51May we be men and women who can follow God completely with our whole hearts. And so you see here, Caleb gets it right. When every other spy gets it wrong, when they lose heart, the Bible says, right? In verse 8, "My brothers who went with me, they caused the people to lose heart."16:18Caleb gets it right. When other people lost their hearts, God had His. God had His. And it's a reminder that, listen, hey for you church folk, I need you to lean in really quick. If you think that you can obey God first, and then your heart will follow, you're out of order.16:41It'll never happen that way. Give God your heart. And let obedience flow from His grace. It's the reminder that you can't white knuckle faith. That's what we try to do as religious people, isn't it? If I just obey, I've sinned, and I've fallen short. If I just try harder.17:11If I just read more of my Bible. If I just pray 10 hours and not 10 minutes. Then I will obey. And Caleb says, no, no, no, no, no, no. Give God your heart. Give God your heart. Surrender to Him, and then watch how He lets you obey Him fully. Then watch how He lets you obey completely.17:37Listen, a faith that makes a difference leads to complete surrender and complete obedience. Never sell yourself short. And never sell your Savior short. I want this faith. So let's live, let's relive Caleb's story really quick. 45 years ago, from this moment, Caleb and Joshua and the other 10 go into the Promised Land.18:03And if you remember the story, they come back. And so Moses tells, asked them, you went to give us a report. So you report back what you have given. And so this is show and tell moment. Then they bring back grapes. They tell of the beauty of the lands. And 10 spies say this. They say, the land was beautiful.18:32It was fruitful. Like this is where you want a vacation. But there were really big people. The Anakim lived there. And they were terrifying. These big people lived in big houses and big cities. And they're fortified. And the 10 spies say, we can never conquer the lands. Caleb and Joshua come back. And this is the report they give.19:01The land is fruitful. It is flowing with milk and honey. It is awesome. This is where we want to live. But they are really big people. And they, the big people live in big houses. And the big houses are in big cities. And there's big walls. But God is on our side. We can take them. You see, the Anakim were like the SEC defensive ends of the ancient Near East. 6'5", 245 pounds.19:29And they ran a 4'2", 40. 10 said, there's no way. Caleb said, there's no way. But God is on our side. The same evaluation, isn't it? Big people. Big cities. But different conclusions. What made the difference? What made the difference in their life? Faith. Faith. Caleb and Joshua had faith.19:59And I'm reminded in this, listen. Never think that doing the right thing is going to be doing the easy thing. Never think that doing the right thing, well, it'll be easy. No, it's not easy. But it's right. And if God is on our side, the right thing is the best thing. Caleb gives an authentic, faithful report. A faith that makes a difference in your life will never take the easy way out.20:28Never take the easy way out. Never take the easy way out. And I love what Caleb says in this. Did you catch what he said? He said, I just celebrated my 85th birthday. And then something happens. He says, the Lord in verse 10 has kept me alive. And he says in verse 11, he said, I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out.20:56So in our students' language, Caleb was a dude. Caleb says, you send me in there. Watch what God can do. They've never seen an 85-year-old man like this. And hearing this, I'm backing away. I'm like, Caleb, I'm going to follow you, but I'm not going to fight with you or against you.21:23Caleb had the heart for Christ. And this might not make sense to you, but in verse 12, I'm going to connect dots for you. Caleb says this, give me this hill country where the Anakim are. Perhaps the Lord will be with me. Do you know what land Caleb just asked for? I know what you're saying, of course, the hill country.21:53But do you know what that means? The hill country was the exact place that 45 years earlier, the 10 spies said, we can never conquer that hill country. Caleb looks at that and says, give me that land. What changed for Caleb? Did you catch what he said here in verse 12? He says, perhaps, perhaps the Lord will be with me.22:20Caleb understood something that if God is on his side, everything changes. Caleb says, I will not take the easy way out, but if God is on my side, that's the best way. Several hundred years ago, thousands of years ago now, a man named Ambrose, an early church father said this. He said, the better part, which is Caleb, preferred glory to safety.22:50He said, the worst part, the rebellious generation preferred safety to virtue. Right now in your life, would you rather choose safety or the glory of Christ? Listen, faith is not the easy way. It is the best way. And may we be like Caleb and say, God, I will take that hill for you if you are on my side.23:15I want this faith that doesn't take the easy way out. The Bible says that there will be a large turning away from Christ when things get difficult. Why? Because when you are living in your strength, you will not have the fortitude to stand in the day of fire. And Caleb says, I'm 85 and I'm a dude.23:44Give me the 6'5", 235 guy. I'll fight him. I'll punch him in the mouth through the Holy Spirit. I want that faith. I'm not punching people, okay? But Caleb says, when the world says that God can't conquer that hill, you give me God. And I'll see what can happen. May we live a faith that makes a difference.24:11Not an easy, convenient faith. May we choose glory over safety. And because faith made a difference in one man's life. Look at verse 13. Because faith radically changed Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. By the way, if you're looking for a name for your son, your next son, Jephunneh would be my recommendation. It's biblical, strong.24:41And they gave Hebron as an inheritance. Therefore, verse 14, Hebron still belongs to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenesite, as an inheritance today. A faith that matters leaves a legacy. To this day, it says, the family of Caleb has received this inheritance.25:07One man stood up for God. One man. And it left a legacy in his life. And I'm reminded in this, the central idea is God giving the promises and fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs. And because of one man's faith, his family received their inheritance. Judah receives, the Kenesites receive, the son of Jephunneh receive because of his faith.25:36What legacy are you leaving? Are you leading and living a legacy that people say, I want that? Why did this happen though? Because Caleb lived in the sight of others. He lived out his faith.26:04I'm reminded, even long ago when we sang that song in nursery, right? You had this light and hide it under a bushel? No! We are going to let it shine. I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! We are going to let it shine. I believe Caleb lived that out. He said, I will not hide my faith.26:33I will live it out. And I will not retire and pick up seashells on the seashore. If I'm 85, we're going to take the hill. If I'm 45, God is faithful. If you're 5 years old, God is faithful. And I never want to be a person that loses steam and leaves a legacy where I leave an inheritance of stuff, but not an inheritance that's built on spiritual values.26:55I don't want to be known as someone who leaves my family something that is of no eternal value. I want to live and lead a faith that makes a difference.27:21And because of Caleb in verse 15, not only do they receive their inheritance, not only do they know that he led a life where he followed God completely. But it says that after this, the city that used to be called Kiriath Arba, one commentator called it Arbaville, which is about right.27:41It used to be a place of war, but now it's what church? It's a place of peace. Why? Because one man took a stand. One man brought peace and rest into a place of war and chaos.28:04And I can just think that Caleb is a man that any tent that he walked into there was peace because God was working in his life. And when you live a faith that matters, when you walk into your place of work that's in chaos, you're going to bring the peace of Christ. In a world that's shouting at us and angry, you're going to bring the quiet confidence of the Holy Spirit.28:30When you enter into discussions on Facebook, I pray that there will be a peace that you bring because of Jesus Christ. When Twitter has lost his mind, that you bring quietness because of Jesus living through you. When you're on Instagram and everything is pointing at what is superficial, that you bring substance because you are living out a faith that matters.28:54But there's more here. You see, the inheritance of Joshua 14 was an earthbound promise. Literally, God said, "I will give you this territory." But there's a greater promise that's offered in the Scriptures.29:23And I want to read this verse in Ephesians. Because it's a reminder of what God is doing in you because of Jesus Christ. There's a greater promise in verse 1 of Ephesians 13. God, through his word, says this: "In Jesus you were sealed with the promise." Have you heard that word promise before?29:52Caleb claimed the promises of God and found the Lord faithful. And the New Testament says you can trust God because he's faithful. He sealed you with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. And when you believed. And when you believed. The Holy Spirit. I love this verse in verse 14. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance.30:20Until the redemption of the possession to the praise of his glory. on the day that you believed in Jesus Christ something happens in you something happened in your life God put a promise in you think about that the promise in the Holy Spirit is that the grace that saves you is the grace that sustains you30:49it's the promise that God will not give up on you although he should he won't because he has put a deposit of your redemption is as if God is saying through the Holy Spirit listen I've bought that house here's 20% down and every day God is a little more a little more a little more until one day in glory you will be31:15perfectly whole again there's a promise living in you because of Christ there's an inheritance that is so much greater than we could ever imagine there is a deposit that lives in you and the Holy Spirit is the payment of your inheritance maybe this is the first day you've heard the gospel let me tell again the old old31:43story from the very beginning we showed ourselves that we were sinners our great great great great grandpa Adam sins and he passed that gene on to us and it's not his faults it's your fault it's my fault but we're still sinners and the Bible says that only people who are perfect and whole can be with a perfect whole God and as I look around you're not that and I'm not that and God was not content to32:11let us spend eternity away from him God wants you to be in a relationship and so he sent his son Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin you said well that's not possible without God it's not you're right let me give you a Caleb phrase but God and Jesus Christ the son of God fully God fully human of the sinless32:40life and you say well that's not possible let me tell you what Caleb is saying but God he lived a sinless life he died on the cross he died a death that sinners deserve and he rose again because he was sinless and Jesus gives us this proposition he says Josh if you will give me your33:01sin I will give you life in a world that screams for fairness that's not fair it's not fair that God would take my sin take my sin and redeem me take my sin and make me whole take my sin and give my sin to Jesus so that one day when I stand before the judgment seat of God and God says Josh you're guilty you're you're a sinner33:26you can't be in my presence Jesus will stand up and he will say father I paid God don't you remember when I took his sin God don't you remember when we put the Holy Spirit within him as a deposit as reminder of the inheritance and the promise that what we started years ago we will carry to completion33:50in Jesus Christ there is a greater promise there's a greater inheritance and this all happens by faith a faith that makes a difference and as Ephesians say says you are sealed with a promise when you hear the word of truth and when you34:15believe maybe today is the first day that you need to believe the day that you say I need to say yes to Christ you say well pastor how do you do that you can pray a prayer like this it's not the prayer that matters it's the heart right Caleb brings an authentic report a prayer from a report from his heart34:42you could pray this prayer God I know that I'm a sinner God I was one of the ten rebellious spies but I believe in your promise that you sent Jesus to take my place and he rose again and God I will today I want to give my life to you I want to surrender I'm tired of trying to obey and then find grace God I want to find grace so that I can obey God would you save me and you know what the Bible says for those who call upon the name of the Lord God's response is this he says I thought you would never ask35:10gosh I was waiting for this day I will save you because Jesus died for you if that's you would you pray pray that prayer it's right where you said you say God I'm a sinner God I don't deserve grace35:36but I believe I believe in Jesus I believe he died I believe he rose again or I believe in your promise and if you do that would you let us know today because we want to help you take the next steps in your faith maybe you're here and you look at your faith and you realize listen I don't have the faith that Caleb has would you commit your life again today to live a faith that matters you might say well I'm 8536:04yeah Caleb was too today it's time to take the hill if the Lord be with us and maybe you need to come and pray at the altar and say God give me that faith again give me a faith that doesn't stay in the sanctuary but a faith that goes in the street because you're worth it Lord give us a faith that matters church we would love to encourage you36:34I'll be down front if you want me to pray for you this morning you can connect with us online or via that green connect card but do not miss a chance to let the Holy Spirit do something in you you have a deposit in you that God will not give up that gives me hope that my faith makes the difference let's 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