Caleb's Reward
Pastor Erickson preaches from Joshua 14 and Numbers 13 on Caleb, one of only two spies who trusted God's promise when the others brought back a negative report. He calls listeners to meet life's tests with faith instead of complaint and to trust God for the reward he gives those who wholly follow him.
The message in 4 points
Two spies passed the test
Reading Joshua 14, he tells how Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan, and only Joshua and Caleb understood the question was not whether they could conquer but how. Life is one long test, and we can either complain or trust that God has a way.
14:56The nevertheless people
Ten spies saw the milk and honey but said nevertheless the people are strong and the cities walled. He warns against a negative outlook that refuses God's blessing, while Caleb said we are well able to overcome it.
18:20A trust issue
The real problem is trust. When a pink slip comes, see it as a test, because God will not give up on you. Caleb received every place his foot had trodden, cities he did not build and wells he did not dig.
21:01Faith for the impossible
With God all things are possible, so even when everyone else says it cannot be done, focus on what God has promised. He calls listeners to praise God and trust him for Caleb's reward.
23:48
In his words
“I refuse to have a negative outlook when God has already promised me that I'm a winner.”
“Don't give up on God because I promise you, he will not give up on you.”
“Caleb and his family were not trained warriors. They were former slaves. They were wanderers.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Joshua 14:7-9
7Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. 8Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
King James Version.
Numbers 13:27-28
27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
King James Version.
Numbers 13:30
30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
King James Version.
He also points to
Related messages
The God Equation: Evil + God = Good
Also about faith, victory, hope
Also about faith, victory, hope
Also about faith, victory, hope