A Half-Hearted Effort.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:13] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:19] We’re only covering five chapters today, so I hope you brought a lunch.

[0:24] We’re going to be here for a while. [0:27] I’m not going to read all five chapters. [0:29] The five chapters that we’re going to cover today [0:31] really go into detail about how the land was distributed [0:36] among the tribes of Israel. [0:39] And so for the last two weeks, we took a look at the faith of Joshua and Caleb.

[0:44] And they were really two examples of men who were faithful [0:48] in their young years to trust God, but also endured well [0:51] in their faith to where you see them at old age. [0:54] And they’re still trusting God. [0:56] They’re still seeking the promises of God for their lives, [1:00] because when God calls you into a life of following him,

[1:03] he’s calling you into a life of trust. [1:06] He’s calling you to believe that he will really deliver [1:10] on every promise that he’s ever made. [1:12] But he’s also calling you into a life of effort [1:15] where you give all of your focus, all of your commitment [1:18] into what he has commanded you to do.

[1:21] He doesn’t just want to be part of your life, rather, [1:24] God wants the totality of your life. [1:26] He wants everything. [1:28] As the last week, we finished by seeing Caleb ready to engage [1:31] the enemies of God that everyone had feared the 45 years previous. [1:36] He lived with a passion, though, to show the power of God through his life.

[1:41] And so when it came to the enemies of God, Caleb was basically fearless. [1:45] Doesn’t happen by accident that you have that type of faith. [1:49] Takes an entire life of focus, [1:51] seeking to see a move of God in and through your life. [1:55] You have to build that type of trust. [1:57] You have to follow God wherever his revelation is going to lead you.

[2:02] It’s an all of life commitment that demands intentional focus [2:05] of engaging every area for growth and faith in order to build a real passion [2:10] for seeing his promises actually work out in your life in real time, [2:15] because no matter the difficulties and inconveniences that happen along the way, [2:19] God calls you to trust him completely. [2:22] The five chapters that we’re going to cover today

[2:24] record a really detailed account of the tribal distribution of the land. [2:29] And so I decided not to do really just an exegetical study [2:34] on mapping of the promised land with you over the next few weeks, [2:37] even though some of you would prefer that. [2:40] I know the majority of you want to just get to the point. [2:42] And so today, what we’re going to cover is is where do we see Israel

[2:47] either exerting faith in the promises of God by taking hold of the land [2:51] or really failing to live up to the life and the measure of what God has called them towards. [2:57] And what I think you’ll see over these five chapters is that there is a stark contrast [3:01] between the faith that we looked at over the last two weeks [3:04] and the trepidation and halfheartedness of the rest of the people of Israel [3:08] that spread over these chapters through their poor example.

[3:12] My prayer is that we can chart a better way to move in faith and our lives. [3:18] And so I want to start reading in Joshua 15, but I want to skip down to verses 14 and 15. [3:25] Here’s what we read. [3:26] It says, Caleb, again, bringing him up, [3:30] drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Shishai and Ahiman and Talmai, [3:36] the descendants of Anak, and he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir.

[3:41] Now, the name of Debir formally was Kiryat-Sephir. [3:47] And so what we see in this passage, starting in chapter 15, [3:50] is right when we begin to see the distribution of the land to Israel, [3:54] it recounts Caleb’s response and Caleb’s action immediately following [3:59] what we saw last week, where he said, give me the land of Anak. [4:03] I will go in and I will drive out those people that were supposedly giants in the land.

[4:08] But if you skip down to verse 63 of Joshua 15, you read a different tale. [4:17] It says, but the Jebusites, now the Jebusites were not part of the people of Israel. [4:20] They were part of the Canaanites. [4:23] But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [4:26] the people of Judah could not drive out. [4:29] So the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

[4:37] You have to ask yourself, what’s the difference between the faith [4:41] and the actions of Caleb and the people of Judah that failed in driving anyone out? [4:47] Well, number one, this morning, don’t be satisfied with partial obedience to God. [4:52] Don’t be satisfied with partial obedience to God. [4:56] Obedience is ultimately about who you trust. [4:59] And so what we saw there in verses 14 and 15 is the faith of Caleb

[5:03] drives out the sons of Anak, shows his faith. [5:06] Faithfulness to the promises from 45 years earlier, [5:10] Caleb did not deviate to the right. [5:12] He did not deviate to the left of God’s revelation. [5:16] Rather, he stood firm on his trust in God and saw it through [5:20] until the mission was complete.

[5:22] And so because of that, the life of Caleb can be seen [5:25] as one of total commitment to the promises of God. [5:30] We see through his actions that he could not imagine a life [5:33] outside of living for what God had promised [5:36] and moving to actually take hold of every ounce of God’s vision for his life. [5:43] But the issue for many people is that it comes upon you

[5:46] where you see the promises of God, [5:48] but then you look at obedience to those promises [5:51] and you almost see them as two separate categories. [5:55] So many people live like this, where they have the promises of God [5:58] and they’re thankful for them, they’re glad about them. [6:00] They hope to one day experience and take hold of the promises.

[6:04] They look at it as an inheritance. [6:07] But then the way that you actually look at yourself in light of those promises [6:10] is almost like one of those entitled brats [6:15] waiting for mom and dad to die [6:18] so that you can just inherit it [6:20] by virtue of being related to that person.

[6:24] You don’t see yourself as having any responsibility [6:27] of living a life building upon those promises. [6:30] You don’t see yourself as having a responsibility [6:33] to actually live in obedience to the design that God has given you, [6:37] even though he is the promise maker, he’s clearly given a design for your life. [6:42] He’s clearly given commands for you to obey.

[6:44] But you see your life and you’ve compartmentalized it [6:47] where the promises and the obedience that God has called you to [6:50] are two separate compartments for your life. [6:54] It’s not the way Caleb looked at his life. [6:57] He saw the promise that God had made, and then he said, [7:00] I have to order my life to take hold of those promises.

[7:06] He’s not an entitled brat where the promises of God are concerned. [7:11] He doesn’t just see it that by virtue of God giving the promises, he deserves it. [7:16] He’s entitled to it. [7:19] His privilege is the reason that he’s going to have the promises of God in his life. [7:23] No. Caleb said, I’ve got to order my life around those promises. [7:29] I’ve got to obey what God has called me to,

[7:33] because the obedience that God has called me to is completely connected [7:37] to the promises that he’s told me to take hold of. [7:40] Therefore, if I’m not obedient to God, I can’t assume the promises. [7:45] I can’t assume that they’re just going to happen, [7:48] that they’re just going to materialize in my life. [7:51] The issue that many come upon

[7:54] is that you have to realize every promise God has made is a command. [8:00] What do I mean by that? [8:02] If you consider just the gospel of Jesus Christ, what’s the command?

[8:06] Believe. [8:08] And so what if you don’t believe? [8:10] Well, then you’re disobeying God. [8:13] It is a sin against God not to believe God. [8:17] The obedience in your life or lack thereof [8:21] ultimately reveals what exactly it is that you believe in.

[8:26] Because what you believe in is all wrapped up in what you actually trust in. [8:30] The who or the what of your trust [8:33] defines what promises you are actually living for in your life. [8:38] So who are you supposed to believe? [8:39] Well, you’re supposed to believe God is supposed to trust him. [8:43] But for many, God is disobeyed for another who or a what in this world.

[8:49] So the fact is, show me your level of obedience to the promises that God has made. [8:53] And I will show you how much you actually trust in God. [8:57] You are obeying something or someone in this life. [9:02] You are seeking something or someone in this life. [9:06] But the question remains, it’s going to be spelled out [9:08] by the very actions that you partake in in this life.

[9:11] Is it God that you trust or is it something or someone else? [9:17] Because it’s actually double mindedness [9:21] in this passage that leads to the ruin of Judah. [9:25] One of the great difficulties of the Christian life is recognizing [9:29] more of your sinfulness and more of God’s gracious work through and in your life. [9:36] And as you recognize more of your sinfulness

[9:38] and the greatness of God’s grace in comparison to your sinfulness, [9:42] your repentance will grow in regards to both of those realities [9:47] if you are a true believer.

[9:52] But the fact remains that if you don’t grow, then there’s a problem. [9:56] And see, so many people almost spinning your wheels, [9:59] the same place you were five years ago, the same issues you were dealing with [10:03] 10 years ago, and you have to ask yourself, what’s the problem? [10:07] And really, there’s a problem if you don’t know that there’s a problem, [10:11] because many people don’t know, as I’m just live in a static reality.

[10:15] I’m not growing in my faith. [10:17] Everything’s great. God’s promises are still true. [10:20] Yes, promises are still true. [10:21] But the issue is, if you haven’t moved in 10 years, guess who’s not going to take [10:24] hold of those promises?

[10:27] You. You know, I can promise you right now, according to God’s word, [10:30] you’re not going to see a single one of God’s promises in your life [10:33] if you’re not growing in your faith, because if you’re not growing [10:35] in your faith in something or someone else is Lord of your life, [10:39] it’s not Jesus Christ. [10:40] We miss so much of what God has for us in obedience

[10:45] because we refuse to label the alternative for what it is. [10:51] You’re not just weak. [10:53] You’re not just making mistakes. [10:56] You don’t just have a little faith. [11:00] No, friends, you’re not just experiencing lack of victory. [11:04] You know what you’re experiencing? Disobedience.

[11:08] Jerry Bridges said years ago, much of the failure [11:11] of the Christian life as we refuse to label our sin for exactly what it is. [11:17] It is disobedience. [11:19] And so when we get down to Joshua 1563, [11:22] we see the juxtaposition between the faith of Caleb and the faith of Judah. [11:28] There is a halfheartedness with Judah.

[11:30] Judah moved in to Jerusalem. [11:34] And so they’re probably high fiving themselves, [11:37] patting themselves on the back, looking at each other, saying, great job. [11:41] We moved furniture.

[11:44] But they never got around to tell them the Jebusites to hit the bricks.

[11:50] They never got around to saying Jebusites, get out or die. [11:55] They never got around to absolute total obedience to God. [12:01] They settled for so much of what I see people settle for today. [12:06] Partial obedience, halfhearted obedience, [12:12] or what the book of James calls double mindedness. [12:17] In James, chapter four, verse eight, I think we have a great revelation

[12:20] of what took place in Joshua 15. [12:23] He says the half brother of Jesus writes and he says, draw near to God [12:27] and he will draw near to you. That’s the reality.

[12:31] God will draw near to you if you’ll believe. [12:34] Cleanse your hands, you sinners. [12:35] And then we like, I don’t like that part.

[12:39] Grace, grace, grace, God’s grace greater than all of my sin. [12:44] But then we don’t get around to dealing with our sin, do we? [12:48] It says, cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts. [12:52] You double minded as a fascinating term. [12:56] You won’t see it anywhere else in scripture. [12:59] Doug Moo, the great commentator, theorizes that James actually created

[13:03] this term because you don’t see it often in antiquity. [13:08] You don’t see it often in Koine Greek. [13:10] But he uses this term twice in the book of James. [13:14] He uses it in chapter one, and then he uses it again here in chapter four. [13:19] And a term literally means to have two souls, double sold. [13:26] It means to have two combating allegiances within the core of your being.

[13:33] And for James, what he’s writing about is this allegiance to the world, [13:38] but trying to have a double allegiance in your life [13:42] where I can have one foot in the things of this world [13:47] and another foot in the things of God. [13:49] And James says, you’re double minded and it’s never going to work out. [13:54] And this is actually the sin that the grace of God needs to conquer in your life.

[14:00] And what was James’s answer to double mindedness? [14:03] Drawn near to God. [14:05] Because when you seek God, it demands an all out effort. [14:12] It demands all of you. [14:14] You cannot have a double minded faith when you are seeking God, [14:19] because when you seek God, it is inevitable that you will repent of sin.

[14:24] You can’t cleanse your hands, you sinner, and you can’t purify your heart [14:29] apart from repenting of sin and turning your life to Jesus Christ. [14:35] What James is saying, in other words, only one of your minds is going to survive.

[14:43] And it’s not a given that it’s the one for God, [14:47] because if you only have half a brain for God, you got no brain for God.

[14:53] It’s like a child being told to clean his room, [14:55] and then you go into his room an hour later, he’s sitting there. [14:58] The room is still a mess. [15:00] And he says, but at least I showed up. [15:04] He says, but I’m here. [15:05] I moved into the room.

[15:08] And what your child is saying is trying to do a Jedi mind trick on you. [15:11] Doesn’t work. [15:13] He thinks his presence, [15:14] he thinks his partial obedience to your command will distract you [15:21] from his total disobedience to your actual command.

[15:26] You think showing up here every week pleases God? [15:30] It’s partial, isn’t it? [15:32] But it’s not total. [15:34] God wants what happens to you in the gathering [15:37] to transform your life when you leave. [15:41] God demands total obedience.

[15:43] Jesus was clear in Matthew 24 when he said, you cannot serve two masters. [15:50] You’ll either love one and hate the other. [15:53] That’s the only way that it’s going to work out in the struggle for Israel. [15:57] And this passage is that their halfheartedness [16:00] was a double minded faith. [16:03] They wanted the blessings of God,

[16:06] but they didn’t want to pay the price for it. [16:10] They didn’t want to make the sacrifice. [16:12] They didn’t want to have the hard conversation with the Jebusites. [16:18] Because what if the Jebusites don’t respond well? [16:21] What if the Jebusites beat them? [16:22] What if the failure first at AI happens again

[16:27] and the Jebusites are more powerful than they are? [16:30] Judah was satisfied with partial obedience to God. [16:34] But as James wrote, if you draw near to God, [16:37] he draws near to you through grace. [16:39] But that changes the very makeup of your soul. [16:45] With God, there is only total obedience or total disobedience.

[16:50] There are no half measures with God.

[16:57] Because number two, the problem that so many have, [17:01] don’t quit before you have a chance to see God move. [17:05] Don’t quit before you have a chance to see God move. [17:09] And so we see immediately, as soon as we start going [17:13] through the allotment of the land, as soon as we get past Caleb, [17:17] as soon as we see the victory in the hill country

[17:20] where Caleb says, I want to take the land. [17:23] So I’m going to take the land because God has promised that I can have the land. [17:27] It may be that God will work through me. [17:30] What’s Caleb saying? [17:31] He’s saying I have to put myself in an environment [17:35] where God has the opportunity to move for me to even have a chance to see God move.

[17:42] And so he puts himself in an environment where faith to God’s promises is necessary. [17:48] And Caleb sees God move because he didn’t quit before he had the chance to see God move. [17:54] So what did he get to see? [17:56] He got to see God move.

[17:59] For so many, you want to see God move. [18:02] But then when the going gets tough. [18:06] The week quit.

[18:10] And you’ve had opportunities to see God move in your life. [18:14] But you weren’t willing to change your schedule.

[18:19] You’ve had opportunities to move in your life, [18:22] see God move in your life, but you had something better going on.

[18:29] It’s one of my favorite things is going to be a little bit of rabbit [18:32] dress, one of my favorite things to see. [18:34] We plan a lot of events here. [18:35] We want to see people from the community come and experience [18:39] the environment the village has to offer so that maybe they’ll give us [18:43] the opportunity to preach the gospel to them, whether it’s on a Sunday morning,

[18:47] whether it’s in a community group, whether it’s in a discipleship group, [18:50] whether it’s me, whether it’s you, I don’t care who it is. [18:52] I just want people to hear the gospel.

[18:56] And those amazing sign up lists hit the Internet.

[19:03] And weeks pass by [19:06] and the signups don’t show up. [19:10] And then three days before, I mean, we schedule these things, [19:14] you know that, right, we’ve pretty much learned how you guys work. [19:18] Three days before, we have to send an email to the membership and say, [19:23] please help us.

[19:25] We’ve rented 32 inflatables. [19:28] Please, we need you.

[19:31] And what I think goes on is [19:33] is you didn’t sign up two months in advance because something better [19:37] might come along. [19:40] But three days in advance, well, you found out how unpopular you are. [19:43] Nobody invited you to anything else.

[19:47] You know, well, I guess I can help now.

[19:51] And I’m just picking on you, but the reality is [19:54] that so many of us want to see God move, [19:57] but we’re really afraid something better is going to come along. [20:00] And so we only have a halfhearted commitment to the things of God. [20:04] And we have a total commitment to the things of this world.

[20:09] Friends, if you think something better is going to come around [20:13] than the environments of discipleship in your life, you have to ask yourself, [20:18] what master are you really serving in this life? [20:23] What is it that is actually commanding the faith in your life? [20:27] Because every time Israel is mentioned in these passages [20:32] from 15 to 19, you see a total contrast

[20:37] with the faith of Caleb. [20:40] Keep referring back to his faith because it is so inspiring. [20:44] And everything that I read from 15 to 19 is so uninspiring.

[20:50] Skip down to Joshua 17. [20:52] I want to start reading in verse 14. [20:56] He says, then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua. [20:59] And I love this because the people of Joseph represent [21:02] two different tribes in Israel after the two sons of Joseph. [21:07] But they label themselves as the tribes of Joseph for obvious reason.

[21:12] You want to know why? Because Joseph was an inspiring figure. [21:15] Joseph had every reason to get mad and walk away from God. [21:19] And Joseph just kept believing. [21:22] Joseph just kept trusting. [21:24] Beaten by his brothers, sold into slavery by his brothers, [21:27] a slave in Egypt, accused of rape in Egypt,

[21:31] sitting in a prison cell for probably more than a decade in Egypt. [21:35] Then he’s redeemed out of that prison to become second in command of Egypt [21:39] so that he can save his family. [21:41] And he looks at his brothers after saving their lives at the end. [21:44] And he says, well, you meant for evil, God meant for good. What faith? [21:49] Now compare that to the faith of the tribes of Joseph.

[21:53] Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, [21:56] why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance? [21:59] Although I am a numerous people since all along the Lord has blessed me. [22:06] And Joshua said to them, if you are numerous people, [22:09] go up by yourselves to the forest and their clear ground for yourselves [22:13] in the land of the parasites and the refaim since the hill country of Ephraim

[22:18] is too narrow for you. [22:21] The people of Joseph said, well, the hill country is not enough for us. [22:25] All of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, [22:30] both of those in Bethshean and its villages and those in the valley of Jezreel. [22:36] Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, [22:40] you are a numerous people and have great power.

[22:43] You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours. [22:47] For though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it [22:51] and to its furthest borders, for you shall drive out the Canaanites, [22:55] though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong. [22:59] I hope you didn’t miss what happened in this passage. [23:02] They come to Joshua and they complain and say, there’s a whole lot of us

[23:06] and there’s not enough land. [23:07] And Joshua says, cut down some trees and their responses. [23:11] But that’s hard.

[23:14] I don’t think you know how hard that is. [23:16] And then he says, and you’ve got that valley over there. [23:19] And they’re like, have you seen those chariots? [23:21] We might actually have to fight for it.

[23:26] Keep in mind, they saw Jericho fall. [23:30] Keep in mind, they saw Caleb’s faith. [23:33] Keep in mind, they’ve seen God deliver on his promises. [23:37] They’ve seen God defeat enemy after enemy, and they’ve heard the promise. [23:41] If you move in and tell them to leave, they will leave. [23:47] And the tribes of Joseph, the descendants of this great man of faith,

[23:51] their response is, can someone else do the work for us?

[23:59] It’s a shocking contrast.

[24:02] And I love the juxtaposition between Joshua 1412 [24:06] and what we see here in 1412, Caleb is speaking. [24:10] He says, now give me the hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day. [24:14] For you heard on that day how the Anakim were there with great fortified cities. [24:19] It may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out. [24:23] Just as the Lord said.

[24:24] Now think about what the tribes of Joseph say. [24:27] They’re not ready for a fight. [24:31] They’re just ready to sit around and let somebody else give it to them. [24:35] That’s not how any of this works. [24:40] Such an irony that these are the descendants of Joseph. [24:44] They are afraid that they might have to put forth a little bit of effort

[24:48] to take the land. [24:49] And they say, Joshua, you sure are asking a lot of us.

[24:54] Friend, when God says move, don’t hesitate.

[24:58] When God says, take it, don’t wait for somebody else to do it for you. [25:03] So what does Joshua have to do? [25:05] Joshua has to do what he always does. [25:06] He gives him a pep talk. [25:09] He even goes down and explains the logistics [25:11] of why this should work out for them.

[25:14] He counts them and he says, you got a whole lot of people to do the work.

[25:20] Just to go do it. [25:23] Reality is that many people want everything delivered to them in a prepared package. [25:30] Sure, you desire to grow in your faith. [25:34] You desire to take hold of God’s promises. [25:38] But are there corners you can cut?

[25:42] Is there a way that you can do as little effort as possible [25:46] and still grow like those that make sacrifices in their lives? [25:52] You want God, but you don’t want to take up your cross and follow him. [25:56] You want salvation, but you don’t want to have to repent of anything.

[26:03] And you hear the voice of Joshua come and say, that’s not how this works. [26:06] You’ve got the strength. [26:08] You’ve got the opportunity. [26:10] You’ve got the promise. [26:12] Go take the land and make it livable. [26:18] God has given you that responsibility, and if God gives you a responsibility,

[26:23] he will deliver it through your effort.

[26:27] Yet you refuse.

[26:30] I’ve seen so many people wonder why they aren’t growing in their discipleship.

[26:37] Yet you won’t serve yet. [26:40] You won’t go to a community group for any extended period of time yet. [26:45] You won’t join a discipleship group yet. [26:47] You won’t lead a discipleship group yet. [26:49] You won’t change your schedule yet. [26:52] You won’t do anything to make it happen in your life

[26:56] because your time is so precious, because what you’ve got going on [27:01] is so important because your hang ups and hang ons [27:05] are undefeatable by the promises of God. [27:08] And so you don’t grow. [27:10] And then what I get to listen to at the end of your time [27:14] is that it’s someone else’s fault.

[27:19] I once asked someone that was leaving who said they couldn’t make any friends here. [27:24] By the way, if you can’t make any friends here, here’s the deal. [27:27] That’s a you problem. That’s not a me problem.

[27:31] Some of you just need to consider that you’re not that likable. [27:36] And that’s why you don’t have any friends. [27:38] All right. I mean, if I can make friends, come on. [27:43] And I got tons of them, some of them don’t even go here, believe it or not.

[27:50] The fact is.

[27:53] They were leaving and they said, I just can’t make any friends here. [27:56] And I asked them, I said, man, have you been to a community group? [27:59] And they said, I went once.

[28:04] And sometimes I can’t help myself.

[28:08] I said, well, what were you expecting? [28:11] I said, the first day, everyone just to fall in love with you. [28:15] And like, well, I just felt awkward. [28:18] And I said, because you are.

[28:21] They didn’t stay.

[28:25] I didn’t want to go. [28:27] But sometimes in life, you just need to be honest with yourself [28:32] that the reason for your lack of community, the reason for your lack [28:36] of spiritual growth is because you’re not putting forward any effort. [28:42] There’s no commitment.

[28:46] There’s no willingness to make the sacrifice. [28:50] I don’t know if you know this or not, but Jesus described the Christian life [28:54] after his amazing grace to save us, all of him, none of us. [28:59] His statement on the Christian life [29:01] have already stated in the sermon, but the was to take up your cross [29:05] and follow him said there will be sacrifices.

[29:08] It will be difficult.

[29:12] You’ve got to put in the work. [29:15] If you want to grow Hebrews, Chapter six puts it this way, starting in verse 10. [29:19] For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work [29:23] and the love that you have shown for his name and serving the saints [29:26] as you still do. [29:27] And I just want to pause there.

[29:29] You know what he’s saying right there? [29:32] He’s saying God blesses effort. [29:35] He’s saying God doesn’t overlook it when you make the sacrifice [29:39] to commit to serve him. [29:42] First 11, and we desire each one of you to show the same [29:47] earnestness, to have the full assurance of hope until the end,

[29:51] so that you may not be sluggish, [29:54] but imitators of those who through faith and patience [29:58] inherit the promises.

[30:02] Friends, I’ll tell you, God’s been clear in Scripture [30:04] without effort, there’s no discipleship. [30:06] It’s not going to magically be delivered into your life without sacrifice. [30:10] There is no growth without commitment. [30:12] There is no promise. [30:15] Verse 10 says God sees the work, God sees the love,

[30:19] God sees the service done in his name. [30:22] So if you’re not feeling anything else, feel that. [30:28] You are not out of the sight of God, even if you feel like [30:32] you are out of the sight of man. [30:33] When you serve God, God notices and he is pleased. [30:38] He is worshiped.

[30:40] He desires for his people, though, to show what he calls in verse 11 [30:45] earnestness in order to have assurance of endurance. [30:50] And I love the way he says that in the original language, [30:53] that word for earnestness means an excited fervor to accomplish something. [31:01] In other words, there’s work to be done. [31:03] God has an accomplishment on the other side of that work.

[31:05] And you put your mind and your hands to accomplishing that work. [31:11] God wants his people to be earnest. [31:15] But then verse 12 warns us, don’t be sluggish. [31:22] Do you know what the people of Joseph were? [31:25] They were sluggish. [31:27] They were hesitant.

[31:29] They wanted to wait. [31:31] They didn’t want to be too quick about the promises of God. [31:34] They wanted to move slowly. [31:36] Don’t do that. [31:37] Don’t look for the easy road. [31:39] Trust God.

[31:41] Imitate those that have gone before you by living a life of faith for God’s promises. [31:49] Just think of a spiritual hero in your mind. [31:53] Think of someone, even a contemporary someone. [31:55] And you’re like, this person is someone who’s taking hold of the promises of God, [32:01] who’s growing in their faith. [32:03] Do you think that happens by accident?

[32:07] You know how many things you have to say no to in order to say yes to God? [32:13] And if you’re not growing, the problem is you keep saying no to God and yes to everyone [32:17] and everything else. [32:19] You’re double minded in your commitments. [32:23] The tribes of Joseph did not want to be earnest about pursuing the promises of God, [32:28] so they would not endure.

[32:31] They wanted to sit around. [32:32] They wanted to wait until an easy way presented itself. [32:37] Joseph tells them, though, there is no easy road. [32:41] Friends, there is no microwave faith. [32:45] Judah needed to do the work. [32:48] But the key is God promised to bless the work.

[32:52] It wasn’t that they were going to do the work and fail. [32:56] God said, do the work and you will succeed. [32:59] But yet they hesitated. [33:02] And then in Joshua 18, one, [33:05] we see the reality of the landscape. [33:08] Text ends in verse one by saying the land lay subdued before them.

[33:16] Do you realize that in different types of vernacular, [33:19] that statement is made multiple times throughout the Book of Joshua? [33:24] This is the land was subdued. [33:27] Book of Joshua uses this language as a reminder [33:30] that God had promised to give it if they would simply trust him enough to take it. [33:37] That’s all that they had to do.

[33:40] God is faithful and trust in that is shown through movement [33:46] to take hold of what God has promised. [33:50] Do not believe the lie that you will be disappointed by the promises of God. [33:56] If you are double minded, what you’re going to do is [34:00] you’re going to believe God for something that he hasn’t promised. [34:04] And when you can’t take hold of it, you are disappointed with God.

[34:09] But if you will believe God for what he has promised, I’m telling you, [34:13] you will not be disappointed. [34:15] But the reality is double minded people [34:19] always fill the vacuum with something that God hasn’t promised, [34:24] rather, God has warned you against. [34:26] And then when your life starts falling apart

[34:29] because you’ve been chasing the wrong promises, [34:33] your default reaction is, how could God let this happen?

[34:39] You’re the one that did it, not God.

[34:44] And don’t start bringing into me [34:47] the sovereignty of God and the sinfulness of man. [34:50] I’ve looked into it a little bit more than you probably have. [34:53] You can assume that and rest assured you’d be right. [34:56] Blaming God for your sin is not a study in sovereignty. [35:01] It’s a demonic accusation against a holy God.

[35:07] And it only comes from the mind of an unbeliever.

[35:13] If you want to take hold of the promises of God, it requires an earnestness [35:18] and excited fervor to accomplish something.

[35:24] Because number three, friends, make no mistake, [35:28] obedience to God requires total commitment, total commitment.

[35:34] Because spectators don’t endure.

[35:38] Joshua 18, look at verses three and four. [35:41] So Joshua said to the people of Israel, [35:43] how long will you put off going in to take possession of the land [35:47] which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? [35:51] Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out [35:55] that they may set out and go up and down the land.

[35:59] They shall write a description of it [36:02] with view of their inheritances and then come to me. [36:08] Key thing to point out is that verse one said the lay land subdued. [36:13] And verse three is where Joshua was irritated. [36:15] So don’t read verse one and then say, well, they had already taken the land. [36:19] No, verse one is just a statement that it was ripe for the picking.

[36:21] Verse three, you see a frustrated leader looking at his people saying, [36:25] what is your problem?

[36:29] What is your problem? [36:32] Take the land. [36:35] Yes, once again, push the nation to take the land.

[36:40] So I ask you, what promises of God are you procrastinating on?

[36:47] Focusing your life on directions God hasn’t called you toward [36:50] while the promises are ripe for harvest.

[36:55] Once you finish, Joshua, if you read further to the book of judges, [37:00] you will see that what Joshua says in verse three never really ends. [37:06] They’re sluggish. [37:08] They’re not earnest.

[37:11] And the theme of judges to recount it over and over. [37:15] Every man did that, which was right in his own eyes.

[37:19] If you won’t take the promises, you will stop thinking about the promises. [37:23] And when you stop thinking about the promises, you stop trusting the promises. [37:27] And when you stop trusting the promises, you start trusting yourself.

[37:32] And every man does that, which is right in his own eyes. [37:35] And I don’t know if I need to tell you this, but that’s not a good thing.

[37:40] A whole lot of terrible happens in the book of judges. [37:44] I’ve heard people try to use certain passages in judges [37:47] to justify certain things. Please don’t do that. [37:49] It’s a terrible book. Nothing good happens. [37:52] It’s all negative examples.

[37:57] When you won’t live for the promises of God, when you ignore his revelation, [38:02] you do that, which is right in your own eyes, and you ultimately end up reaping [38:06] exactly what you sow. [38:08] There’s only one way to know you are living for God’s righteousness. [38:12] And that is his revelation. [38:14] That is his word in Israel had it.

[38:16] And Joshua kept reminding them of it. [38:18] And God was clear with Israel. [38:20] Take every square inch of the land. [38:24] That procrastination that they had, though, was the result of ignoring God [38:28] based on what seemed easier in the moment.

[38:34] And so I ask you, how often are you waiting for a better time to obey God? [38:40] Are you waiting for it to be more convenient? [38:43] It never will be. [38:46] Are you waiting for when less sacrifice is required? [38:50] Well, that would be a new version of Christianity that’s never going to exist, friend. [38:55] Are you waiting for when you feel a little bit better?

[38:58] Are you waiting for that magical thing that I always hear [39:00] when things calm down a little bit? [39:04] I’ve been waiting for things to calm down for 25 years. [39:08] They just keep ramping up. [39:10] Use whatever pithy excuse you want to. [39:14] It’s always the same.

[39:17] You are doing that, which is right in your own eyes, [39:23] because you don’t at the end of the day really care that much [39:28] about the promises of God, because if you did, [39:31] you would be ordering your life around them. [39:36] It’s all for God’s glory or it’s all a waste.

[39:44] In Joshua 19, we see another juxtaposition take place.

[39:52] If you look at the beginning of 19, well, not really the beginning, [39:56] it’s really further towards the end. [39:59] You’ll see in verse 47. [40:02] When the territory of the people of Dan, another tribe, [40:05] was lost to them. [40:09] Hebrews interesting there, it’s lost by them, lost to them.

[40:12] But ultimately, everyone agrees what happened is, [40:15] is Dan lost part of the land after they’d taken it. [40:19] So the people of Dan went up and they had to take a different land. [40:24] They were able to capture it.

[40:28] The realization is the same. [40:31] Dan got sluggish, they didn’t obey God fully. [40:35] And they paid the price. [40:37] They lost something.

[40:40] Be warned, sin will cost you the promise [40:45] if there’s no repentance.

[40:49] You may believe the lie that it won’t, but it always will. [40:54] Then consider verses 49 through 51. [40:58] Joshua’s response to the promises of God. [41:01] When they had finished distributing [41:04] the several territories of the land as inheritances, [41:07] it’s kind of like a parent at a meal.

[41:12] Once you’re finished making sure everybody else got to eat, [41:14] then you get to eat. [41:16] And that’s Joshua’s leadership. [41:18] He distributed the land to everybody else. [41:21] And then he got an allotment of the land. [41:24] Verse 50, by command of the Lord, they gave him the city that he asked.

[41:28] Temnoth, Sarah and the hill country of Ephraim, [41:32] and he rebuilt the city and settled in it. [41:37] That’s where I’ll stop. [41:40] That’s what it looks like, to be honest. [41:43] That city had been completely destroyed in battle. [41:47] And Joshua said, I want the destroyed city

[41:51] because I’ll just rebuild it in the name of God. [41:54] So unlike Dan, unlike Judah, unlike the tribes of Joseph, [41:59] Joshua goes in and he gets to building at an old age. [42:07] When it’s his time, he’s not sluggish. [42:10] He’s earnest.

[42:13] First Corinthians 10, 31 has always been true north for my life.

[42:18] Text says, whether you eat or drink or whatever, [42:23] you do, do all to the glory of God. [42:29] A simple command with massive ramifications.

[42:36] According to the apostle, Paul, in this text, you have two options. [42:40] You can either do everything in your life to God’s glory [42:43] or you can do it to your own. [42:46] Even down to simple issues of eating and drinking. [42:51] He says, you’re either eating a meal to get full [42:55] or you’re eating a meal with the realization that God provided every bite.

[43:01] And you are so thankful and you realize that the glory of God [43:06] even exists in the dinner that you are eating tonight. [43:11] When you do it to God’s glory, things that look lost get rebuilt.

[43:19] It takes a total commitment, though. [43:23] But when you do it to your own glory, things fall apart. [43:26] Territory is lost. [43:28] Will you, though, live by faith, friend, or will you live for yourself? [43:35] Trying to be double minded, [43:38] just using the Christian faith as an opiate.

[43:43] To convince yourself everything’s OK when it’s not.

[43:48] A few application points this morning. [43:50] First, admit that partial obedience is still disobedience.

[43:55] Admit that because it is. [43:58] At every moment of your life, when you’re fully giving your life over to God, [44:02] just be honest with yourself, just don’t lie. [44:06] Secondly, cleanse yourself of double mindedness. [44:08] Get rid of it. [44:10] And how do you do that? You draw near to God.

[44:12] He’ll draw near to you. [44:14] Thirdly, do not hesitate when God says move. [44:18] That’s the biggest flaw. [44:20] I see so many people who are comfortable in life. [44:24] God says, make a change and you immediately think, [44:27] but that might disrupt what I got going on.

[44:29] Yeah, it will. But it’s a good thing. [44:34] When God calls you to move, move, don’t question it. [44:37] Don’t reason about it. [44:39] Move. That’s what faith looks like. [44:41] And then finally, pursue God’s call with maximum effort [44:46] with everything you’ve got, whether you eat, whether you drink,

[44:51] do it all to the glory of God.