Driven

[Purpose]{.underline}: All the days of our life are filled with hope and direction when we are living for God.

Introduction

a. I really enjoy being with older people and not just because I am becoming one. I like the stories. I like the history. I like the reminiscing. I like hearing of the struggles and challenges and the victories as well as the defeats. To talk to an older person is to connect with history and to make sense of the present even as you look to the future. There are so many stories in this audience. I remember talking with Bernice Pate so many years ago as you she told of memories of assembly times from the early 1920s. She told of going from one cup assemblies to multiple cup assemblies. Why? Because of the flu epidemic. No theology. Just practicality.

b. I have marveled at the stories of my dad's dad who told of traveling throughout Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kentucky looking for work during the Depression. Working hard all day long for a quarter. Listening to him talk of such things makes me appreciate how easy I have it in comparison. I have heard the stories of many of you who have been challenged by the death of a spouse having to learn new skills and demonstrating the resiliency of moving forward when the situation demanded. The legacy of our history is found in the stories of our older members.

c. In one of the more inspiring stories in Joshua, we have the story of Caleb and his determination to take the land of Hebron. It is a story of determination, focus, resolve, and vision. It is a story that reminds us that life isn't done until we have breathed our last. It is a story about patience and learning to wait for the promise to be fulfilled. It is a story illustrating how important it is to not lose sight of the final end. It is a story that motivates and inspires. May we see ourselves as modern day Calebs today.

The Story

a. By the time we get to Joshua 14 a long time has passed. The wars required to fight against the kings of Canaan took time. We are tempted to believe that these were quick battles. The battles may have been quick but the campaigns were long. Joshua 11:18 tells us "Joshua waged war against these kings for a long time." The assumption is that after these kings are killed that the land is free for taking. That is not the case. Kings and armies were destroyed but people remained. People who would fight to keep the land. From chapter 13, there is a description of lands that are yet to be taken. It appears that the major cities and their leaders had been defeated, but with the division of the land individual tribes were to enter their portion and clean it up. The entire army of Israel would not go from place to place. Each tribe would have their own militia to take care of war.

b. Israel is in the promised land. There has been seven years of war. Now it is time to divide the land. Enter Caleb. Caleb and Joshua would have been the oldest members of this tribe of people. That which the young had heard about, Joshua and Caleb had experienced. They had experienced slavery; they had seen the plagues in Egypt; they had experienced the crossing of the Red Sea; they had been part of the original spy team; they had known Moses; they had spent 40 years in the desert. They were the gray hair of Israel. Caleb remembers a promise made long ago.

c. In Numbers 13 and 14, Caleb and Joshua were part of the original 12 spies sent to spy out the promised land. They saw the beauty, the abundance, and the large well fortified cities and peoples. But they believed that God would fight for them and that they would occupy the land. You remember the story -- the people's faithlessness resulted in an additional 38 years of nomadic life until a generation died out. Joshua and Caleb were allowed to live.

d. By the time the spies were sent into the land about 2 years had passed. Caleb was 40 when he was sent to spy out the land. 38 years of desert wandering. Seven years of war. 45 years have passed. Caleb has waited and now he wants what was promised to him. In Deuteronomy 1:36, Moses had promised the land that Caleb had seen as the inheritance. And now he wants the land. It isn't a matter that he wants his sons to fight for the land. He wants to fight for the land. It was his land 45 years ago. He just couldn't live on it. He's been waiting. Now he wants to take possession of the land. I wonder how long Caleb rehearsed his speech before he went to talk with Joshua? There are two lessons I want us to learn from this story.

Application

a. First, Caleb's vision of what was true pushed him on. Caleb lived knowing that the land of Hebron was his. He didn't yet possess it but he owned it. Heaven is the same for us. It is ours. We may not possess it yet, but we have a place in it. We have no indication that Caleb cursed his 45 years of waiting. I'm sure there were bad days, but each day brought him one day closer to what he knew would eventually happen -- living in the land he longed to live in. He had seen it. Maybe he dreamed of it at night. Surely he had tasted the grapes from the land. He had drunk the water from its streams. He has seen the hill country of Hebron. He saw how fortified the cities were. He saw how large the fighting men were. He saw the obstacles. But he had touched the ground. And on the day that Moses promised the land to him, he dreamed of the day when it would be his.

i. Caleb was driven by what would be one day; he walked every step. There were bad days, but he was driven to be in the land that he longed for and he knew he couldn't be there without 40 years of walking.

ii. And we will not lay claim to that which God has promised us without being driven to see it. God has promised it to us. While we haven't seen it, God has described it. There are bad days, but we want to be with God. Do we dream about it? Can we see on the bad days?

b. Second, as you look over the story of Caleb throughout scripture, something will inspire you.

i. Numbers 14:23-24; Deuteronomy 1:34-36; Joshua 14:8, 9, 14.

ii. Do you see it? "Wholeheartedly." The word is "wholly." NIV helps us in the translation. It means to be completely filled. 45 years of fighting. 45 years of waiting. 45 years of listening to people grumble. 45 years trusting in a promise. Caleb's heart was full and complete. That's how he got through the bad days. Caleb's tombstone surely contained that word. He believed God when it wasn't popular or particularly conducive to health. The people wanted to kill Caleb for his faith. God and Moses saw this determination and complete resolve. His heart was set on one thing -- honoring and trusting God.

iii. C.S. Lewis in his book "Mere Christianity" wrote: If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

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