Absolute Goal for the Gospel Noble Family – Restoration of the Gospel (13)
God’s Miracle Transcends Your Origin and Background (Jos 15:13-19)
(Intro)
It’s good to see you. Greet those around you. Have you had a good week? Today’s title is, “God’s Miracle Transcends Your Origin and Background”. Jesus said, “Who are my siblings? Those who do according to the will of my Father God are my siblings and parents”. When did He say this? This was during His earthly ministry. A lot of people gathered for Him. At this time, Jesus’ mother and siblings were waiting to see Him outside. There’s a person who reports this to Jesus. “Your mothers and brothers are outside and waiting for you”. Jesus replied, “Who are my mothers and brothers?”. He points to His disciples, “Here are my mothers and brothers. Whoever does the will of my Father is my brothers and mother”. This doesn’t mean that you need to throw away your biological families. What we need to realize is that your biological families are vital, Jesus is placing more weight on His spiritual family. Of course, we need to keep in mind our background. We need to think about our level of faith. We will be introducing the character in Joshua 15. When you use the standards of the world, it’s not that outstanding. Caleb was a person who was blessed by following the Lord wholeheartedly. We looked in the previous chapter of Joshua 14. Caleb voluntarily went to Hebron, where no one wanted to go. It says that Caleb, son of Jephunite, had the inheritance of Hebron. He followed the Lord wholeheartedly, the God of Israel. It says that the origin of Caleb is that he belonged to the Kenunsites. His spirituality was strong with faith. We will look at his origins. In Genesis 15, it first mentions where he was from. This is a scene when God was promising the land of Canaan to Abraham. Of all the lands that Abraham was promised to conquer, the land of the Jerusites was promising. He is saying that as a Gentile, we must conquer the land. Originally, they all lived in the land of Canaan. There were people who didn’t believe in God. Caleb’s father was from Jerusite. They were saying that Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah. The meaning of the name of Caleb’s father, Jephunite, was to turn away. A lot of people come to this interpretation. Although they originally belonged to the land of Canaan, they turned away from it and enter into the Lord. The foreigners became God’s children. They received circumcision to be saved. How did the Israelites take this? They were looked down upon for their decisions. Caleb means dog. Why was he given that name? It represents the suffering that they had in the past. They probably received prejudices from the Gentiles. He probably had a life full of strife. Parents want their kids to have the best name possible. The Israelites were led by honesty. The name was an honest expression. We could already understand the situation. They were Gentiles and lived a life of slavery. During this time, they were able to come across their faith. They transferred to the tribe of Judah. They were able to grow their faith. You will see that Caleb had this origin. He was able to become a leader of the tribe of Judah. Although, he was a foreigner, he became the leader of the tribe. At that time, they selected leaders and explore the land of Canaan. That is how Caleb was selected for the tribe of Judah. He was a foreigner, and despite that, he was a leader. That says a lot about him. The 1st generation of Israelites mostly died out before going into Canaan, but Joshua and Caleb survived. Not only that, Caleb gave a report of faith. 10/12 reporters gave accounts of disbelief. This is the land that God wants them to go into. This is the land of filled with milk and honey. The land is filled with foreigners. The Anakites had previously occupied that land. Joshua and Caleb said that God had promised them that land. You will see that Caleb actively persuades the people. If you look at this chapter, you could tell the level of faith that Caleb had. You will see that the faith that he express transcends his background. God wants us to read about Caleb and his faith.
1. Have the greatest pride in your faith
1) He was a foreigner but became a leader of the Judah (Gen 15:19, Num 13:6)
2) They received more lands than other tries (Jos 15:1-12)
3) They received the region where God’s will is in (Jerusalem, Bethlehem)
What is faith? It is not belief that you believe. It is your faith regarding the one who is the only one, Almighty God. Have any of you seen God? He cannot be seen with our eyes, so we cannot go towards Him. When you enter inside this church, you greet each other. God is invisible to our eyes; we cannot greet him. What do we need to see? We don’t even know how He perceives us. There is only one reason. We believe in Him because of the word that we gave. The Word that He has spoken will be fulfilled. We must believe in the Word that He provided. If you look in the Bible, there was never a time when He was incorrect. We only have one life to live. How can we live without regret? If God is truly alive, how can we receive these blessings. We receive His answers and blessings. Answers are when the word of God are accomplished in your life. Remember and hold onto the word of God. When you experience the Word of God, then you realize that He is truly alive. He is the one who brings answers. Once you experience this, you will have faith. Without faith, you cannot please the Lord. Anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists. Believe in the fact that He rewards those who seek Him. They will be answered. Caleb was the one who full assurance. After the exploration, they gave reports. Even when he provided the report, He believed in God. The Lord is pleased with us and will lead us into the land. This was his report of faith. Caleb didn’t have a superficial report. Caleb knew that God will allow it to happen and had faith. After that, 45 years had passed. All tribes feared the Anakites in Canaan. It wasn’t that Caleb had blind courage. He remembered Moses swearing that the land of Canaan will be ours. I have waited since the day of the Lord to give this to Moses. Caleb prayed for the deliverance of this land. For 45 years, Caleb held onto God’s word. This is the secret to the walk of faith that we must find. No matter how long time passes, the word of God will be completed. As long as you hold onto this faith, God will reward you. What kind of reward is that? The result that you see in today’s scripture is that the greatest portion of the land was given to the tribe of Judah. It examines the surrounding land of Judah. What’s really important isn’t the vastness, but the quality of the land. Of all the land, Jerusalem and Bethlehem was included. Jerusalem was to become the capital and Bethlehem is the land where Jesus will be born. All the important places belonged to the tribe of Judah. These amazing blessings were given to the tribe of Judah and Caleb. God gave these results to Caleb because of his passion and faith in the Lord. Therefore, if you have faith that is pleasing to God, you will have answers transcending your origin and background. If you have the same origin and background, you will receive answers as well. It’s not just blind faith that we need to learn. We are not talking about doing crazy things with blind faith. We are looking to the God of glory. We are looking to God, who has made us into His son. You need to have the faith of taking pride in this. There are a lot of people who lived a life of troubles before they met Jesus. Then they are saved. There are some people who live their walk of faith living as non-believers. Caleb had faith. He had faith to lower himself before the God of glory. He would yield before others. We are talking about the faith of service to save society. You need to have pride in all of this as well as confidence. It is a classy and outstanding faith that encompasses this. It is the faith of knowing the fundamental problems of the world and the answer to this problem. It is also being thankful before God. It is the faith that you could proclaim to your descendants. It is not being embarrassed of the Gospel but rather being proud of it. It is the power of God that brings salvation to those who believe. The Gospel isn’t just proclaimed by Koreans, but also Americans. Faith isn’t just proclaiming the field, but also your own family. It is the faith that Caleb had that pleased the Lord. Regardless of the origin of background, God poured all his blessings to Caleb. Even if we have not learned great things, God will bless you. It doesn’t matter what kind of history you have, God will give you His grace. Caleb is the main figure of this.
2. Pour the greatest passion on your devotion
1) He volunteered to go to the impregnable Mt. Anak (Jos 14:12)
2) He accompanied the reward system and conquered Debir (Jos 15:16-17)
3) That was connected to the answer of glorious descendant (Jud 3:10)
You need to take the faith you have and make it into the greatest devotion. After giving reports of positive exploration, he gave reports of faith. Joshua was seen to have lower faith. Joshua became a prime minister and Caleb was ignored afterwards. We would probably be upset and furious. However, Caleb didn’t do that. At 85, Caleb didn’t care about a stable life. Caleb just wanted to conquer the land of Canaan. Caleb volunteered himself. He took that into action. Although he was late in age, he was really healthy. He had the correct method and morals of life. we have the father of Isaac here. It looks like he takes care of his health well. I hear he regularly hikes. A doctor said that the best way for women to take care of their health is swimming and for men it’s hiking. That’s what Caleb did. Caleb never hesitated to go out and fight. By God’s miracle, the Israelites were able to conquer the land of the Anakites. He understood the reason why the land needed to be conquered. However, the Israelites had exhausted their resources. They need to conquer this. Everyone was tired. What could they do? Caleb still gathered all resources. He volunteered his daughter as a reward for anyone who conquers Canaan. He offered his daughter. It shows how much faith he had. He had peak devotion. Caleb’s younger brother appears. He wanted Calen’s daughter. It was a unique marriage. If I was Caleb, I would tell him that’s weird. Caleb didn’t hesitate and told him to go. If it were me, I would’ve tried to renegotiate the deal. He fulfills that devotion. God accepts that devotion. God gave a unique answer. Joshua later passes away. Then they enter into the age of Judges. You will see that in this age, Caleb’s younger brother, Othniel, is one of the first judges. It is Judge Othneil who was able to conquer the land. Caleb devoted his own children. God accepted that faith and blesses the following generation. I bless that we will see this kind of work. It is the faith of believing only Christ. God will absolutely bless your descendants. We take a step backwards. Even if it takes a long time, I bless that you will have faith. Listen. Even if you turn 85, take care of our spirituality and health. Guide your children so that they can do world evangelism and missions. Pray so that you will do World Evangelization. Support your own children to have faith like Caleb’s. God will give even greater answers for your children. Those who are even more devoted, know how to devote materialistic things. The devotion that is even further than this are devoted to their family. We have our senior deaconesses who have received these answers. There are some ministers who often do not want to marry off their children to other ministers because of conflicts. However, we need to remember that God is almighty. I bless that you will have this kind of faith. In Africa, missionary Livingston said that God is my Lord. He is my life and is everything to me. I give my life to you. This kind of confession must belong to you and I.
3. The greatest method is the answer of the descendant
1) They couldn’t cast out the Jesus tribe in Jerusalem (Jos 15:63)
2) It became the assignment for the descendants in the later age of judges
3) The Remnant movement is not an option, it is a must (Is 6:13, Jn 21:15-17)
The greatest method is the answer of our descendants. It says that they were designated for that land but originally were not able to drive out the people of that land. The temple of Jerusalem might have had strong walls. It says that they were not able to conquer every land. This is an incomplete assignment for the next generation. The age of Caleb and Joshua were answers itself. It still wasn’t completed. These were the tasks that had to be fulfilled. We need to humbly take this in. Not everything can be completed during my generation. It was the same for Moses and Joshua. Completion takes place through multiple generations. This is the reason why God have given to us the Covenant of Remnants. We need to save our children. The Remnant movement isn’t something that is optional. We must absolutely do this movement. Help your children attend these activities. Send your younger kids to these VBS’s. It might be their first and not like it. Even if they don’t do a good job, they will have a challenge. I have been doing this ministry for 20 years. I have watched these kids grow. All the kids who consistently attend these conferences turn out well. However, those who barely or never attend are inconsistent today. It is frightening. The plan of God never goes astray. We have a planned training. We need to focus on saving our children. This is so important. We need to believe that Jesus has finished everything. Our kids are so pure inside often speak useless words. This complete Covenant hasn’t been imprinted yet. Believe in the fact that God will complete this work. The greatest work is to raise and nurture the next generation.
(Conc)
We are all greatly influenced by our relationships. Between all of our surroundings, it is divided by race, origin and people. God transcends this. He requests us to have faith. I bless that you will have differential faith. The Lord will guide you for the rest of your life. He will forgive you for your short-comings. He is the same Jesus who has freed you. The Lord Jesus has saved you from curses. Confess that He is your Lord and the son of the living God. It doesn’t matter what our origins and background are. When you believe in this, God will present miracles in life. Ask God for passion. God’s works will go on endlessly. Having the model like this is what allows you to experience God.
(Prayer)
Living Father God, we will believe that you will present miracles to us. Help us to have faith in miracles. We believe that you will allow us to have miracles. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.