In 1978, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off an amazing victory against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands Stadium. In fact, they called that, anybody know what they called that game? no Eagles fans here, I texted Sean Stimson and John McClanahan to tell him I was gonna say this and they immediately knew what it was and even told me about some other great victories. It was called the Miracle at the Meadowlands. With just a few seconds to go in the game, the New York Giants were up and they were trying to run the clock out and they inexplicably fumbled the ball. Oh, there's Sean back there, they fumbled the ball. And the Eagles picked it up on one bounce and went in the end zone and they won the game. It was called the Miracle at the Meadowlands. About 10 years later, they instituted in the NFL what's called the Victory Formation. Back in 78, you actually had to touch the guy down before you could call the guy down. So the Eagles or the Giants were doing a play and they fumbled the ball. So now everybody remembers when Jared Goff took a knee against the Giants. Los Angeles Rams this January to win the first playoff game in all those years. He took a knee, that's the victory formation. Back in the day, they didn't do that. And they started that really kind of as a result of what happened in the miracle at the Meadowlands all those years ago. My question for you tonight, is there ever an opportunity that we as believers would take a knee or form the victory formation in this life? And I would tell you, no. The time we take the victory formation is gonna be around the throne of Jesus, on the way up as we're gathered with him, or maybe if the Lord calls us to heaven, as we walk into heaven, is when we can take that victory formation. Until then, I'd tell you that, no, it's time to work. There's things that God has for us to do. Tonight, you have a handout in front of you, and I just wanted to challenge us for a few moments tonight from God's word about what I titled, The Power of One to Finish God's Work. It's really looking at the life of Caleb. Caleb was an interesting character in the Old Testament, and I want us to look at his life tonight. I want us to consider how we can finish the work that God's given us to do. You know, I know who I'm speaking to tonight. I'm speaking to a group of people who are very committed to God's work here at InterCity Baptist Church. Some may be guests or just an attendee, but you are very interested to learn more about God and the work here. And so tonight, I just wanted to speak to you for a few minutes to encourage you, to encourage you with God's word to keep trusting, keep following, keep doing God's work here. Don't take a knee. Don't form the victory formation. Keep pressing forward until God calls us home. My heroes are Carl Fressel, who I'm named after, my grandfather, Jesse Martin, Marion Kratz, and others who finished well. You know, Jesse, ministers tell you he was over 92 years old until the last few months of his life. Marion Kratz will always sit on my shoulder and remind me in her years before she went to heaven, I just want to know Jesus better this year. And maybe you remember her saying that. My grandfather, Carl, was a deacon at the beloved Highland Park Baptist Church, home of Southfield Christian, and served God till he died really early. I thought he was old. He died at 63. I thought that was old, but he was working and serving Jesus till right before he died. Don't tell any of these people But I also consider people like Chet Miles, Ron Dively, Paul Dawson, Ruth Klemek, Bruce Compton, don't tell me about when I said this, but these are people along with many others like you who are striving to finish well as they complete their second 40 year lap of life. And so many others like them who are pursuing God's work until they finish it. So tonight, I just wanna begin, tonight I wanna begin a four-week series. We'll take next week off for Thanksgiving. And it may take longer, I don't know, but at least we know we have four weeks. Which tonight's lesson just whets your appetite to capture a picture of what God could do through you, no matter how young or how old you are. Tonight, we'll just preview that and unpack that maybe more significantly over the next month. But let's talk about Caleb. Take your Bible, if you will, and turn with me to Joshua 14. There's not a whole lot in the scripture about Caleb, but what is written about him is remarkable. Joshua 14. Let's read verse six through 13. It'll give us an overview of him and what God did through him. Joshua 14, verse six. Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, said to him, you know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Catesparnia to spy out the land. And I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear, but I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day saying, surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance to you and to your children forever because you have followed the Lord my God fully. Now behold, the Lord has let me live just as he spoke these 45 years from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses when Israel walked in the wilderness. And now behold, I am 85 years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me. As my strength was then, so my strength is now for war and for going out and coming in. Now then give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that the Anakim were there with great fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out as the Lord has spoken. So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, for an inheritance. In these few verses, it really gives us a picture of Caleb and how he sought to do the work that God had given him to do, to finish it and to do exactly what God had commanded him to do. I think in this passage, we can see three truths that maybe would encourage us tonight as we serve and work for the Lord. God does powerful things. God does powerful things through those who are fully devoted to him to do his work. And I think Caleb shows us that. And just a couple of things that I'd note about that in this story and other texts, but if we're gonna be the kind of person that God uses powerfully, to do God's work. Then the first thing is we have to set our heart to finish God's work. We must set our heart. You must set your heart to finish God's work. Then you see at verse 12 of Joshua 14, that Caleb had set his heart to finish God's work. He said, then give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day. Give me this mountain. This is what I want to do for God's glory and the good of God's people. God had promised that to him. And he set about to do God's work. You know, this was told to him years ago. And what do you think Caleb was doing for the past 40 years as he's walking through the wilderness? He says, I can't wait to get to the promised land for what God has promised to me. He set his heart and that's what he had been doing for all his years. Think about his life in the wilderness for 40 years with God's people. What's that like? 40 years of what? Drudgery, of duty, right? Of death, discouragement. And yet in all of that, it's like Joshua had a vision. of what God had promised him that he was gonna give him. And he set his heart to do God's work. He was thinking about this for the whole time probably walking in the wilderness and he was ready to do it. He knew God had promised him a great work and it was going to be a hard work. but it was gonna be worth it. Who was living in the area where Caleb wanted that hill country or that mountain? Who was living there? The Anakim. What do you know about the Anakim? Well, they were giants. They were giants. In fact, it's interesting in other passages that are described as people who were greater and taller than us. They were giants and they lived in great fortified cities. The work was going to be hard, but with God's help, he would succeed. And you see that in verse 12 again, what do you see? The end of it, I love what he says there. He says, he says, perhaps the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out as the Lord has spoken. He says, I'm committed to doing what God wants me to do. Again, you could look, and I think I have it on your notes, some of these passages. I mentioned Numbers 13, and I'm looking at two spots, so let me just take a quick peek here. Yeah, I put a bunch of these on your notes, but some of this isn't there. But you can look up some of these things in other portions, and you see that Joshua and Caleb had faithfully served God, and God had promised this to them. They knew God's promise and they were going to finish the work. Joshua set his heart to do the work. But you know, there's other people in the scriptures that show us examples that they set their heart to do God's work and didn't quit until it was done. And you see in the notes, I talk about Paul. Paul didn't quit before his work was done. What's the text say there? In Acts 20, he says, he says, but none of these things move me. I do not consider my life as any account dear to myself so that I might, what, finish the course and the ministry which God has given to me. Paul said that in anticipation of it, and then what's he say at the end of his life in 2 Timothy? I have finished. He didn't quit. He didn't form the victory formation. until God took him home to heaven. Paul didn't quit. Caleb didn't quit. Jesus didn't quit. Well, you say, well, he's God, but he is human, okay? And he knows what it's like to be human. And it says in the text, a couple of different passages, John 6, he says, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Remember the passage in Luke 22? Before going to the cross, he says, Father, if you're willing to remove this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. And what did Jesus say on the cross in John 19? It is finished. Jesus finished. And so we must resolve to never quit before we've done all of God's work. Caleb purposed to do that, Paul did, Jesus did. I love the verse in 1 Peter 4, 2, which says, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for the lust of men, but for the will of God. Isn't that encouraging? Because I don't know your story and you don't know everything in my life, but you know what we can always do? We can ask for God's forgiveness and we can start today to live the rest of our days, no longer in the lust of the flesh, but for the will of God. So now is not the time for taking a knee. It's still time to work. Yeah, your life circumstances may have changed. Maybe you can't do what you used to do. Maybe you wouldn't have gave the same testimony Caleb did. You were 40, now you're 85, and I haven't lost any step. Yeah, I'm not sure I can say that, okay? But there's always something for us to do. There's work that we can do. The time to work is now. So I simply say this, number one, set your heart to finish God's work. Bottom of page one, number two, seize God's gracious provisions to do God's work. You know, God works powerfully through one person fully devoted to him. God does amazing things. And so we must seize God's provision to do God's work. And what's neat about this passage is that God graciously gave Caleb what he needed to do to do the work. And I think you see four things in this passage that God had provided in his grace to Caleb. First of all, he'd given him capacity. He had a God-given capacity. Again, verses 10 and 11, for behold, the Lord has let me live. Just as he spoke these 45 years from the time the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness, and now behold, I'm 85 years old today. I'm still as strong as I was in the day Moses sent me, as my strength was then, so my strength is now for war and for going out and coming in. God gave Caleb the opportunity to enter the promised land. God gave Caleb the capacity to do many of the same things he had done 40 years before. And God gave Caleb the strength to engage the enemy and defeat them. Let me ask you, what God-given opportunities do you have at this point in your life? You know, Pastor talked about the opportunity of being unmarried and the opportunity for ministry several weeks ago. Maybe you're older and maybe your capacities have diminished somewhat, but there's still work to do. And I believe there's a specific work that God's given for you. What's your capacity? You know, I think about, I think about, I just keep thinking about Tim Beanstra. You know, Tim didn't get to live 50 years. And God said, you know what? I'm gonna give you 47, 48 years. And that's what God gave him. Elaine Talley, God gave her just over 50 years. You know, and that's God's prerogative. He can do whatever he wants to. But he's given you today. He gave Caleb the opportunity and he's given us today. Caleb acknowledges it in verse 10. Behold, the Lord has let me live. It's God's will that I hear and God's given me the strength that I have. Do you use what God's given you for his work? Our culture says, put your time in and then check out and make it all about you. And God says, no, no, no, no, no. If I give you 85 years, use those 85 years for God's glory. You with me? And the first thing God gave him was a capacity, a God-given capacity. Secondly, he gave him a God-fueled conviction. a God-fueled conviction. In verse nine of chapter 14 in Joshua, Moses, it says, so Moses swore on that day saying, surely, surely, underline bold, right? Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance for you and for your children forever because you have followed the Lord my God fully. Caleb knew, he was convinced. that God would do what he said he would do. We read in Hebrews 3. It says, for who provoked him, this is again the Lord's interaction about the children of Israel, for who provoked him when they heard, indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of what? Unbelief. But that wasn't the case for Caleb, not for Joshua. God had given them a faith that was real, that was convinced because of the promise of God. It was a God-given faith. Do you believe God's word in your life? You know, I injured my back about a year ago And boy, I'd never really been laid up like that. And I can remember sitting in my recliner downstairs and I was consumed with one person. You know who that is? It was me. And I spent all day long thinking about me. And boy, I tell you what I learned. I learned... that I got a renewed sympathy. I can't imagine some of the people in our church who have chronic pain and they go through it every day. I had hoped that mine would be done quick. It took a little longer, but it was done. But you know, whether you're in that kind of trial tonight or whatever it is, do you believe that God is sufficient for you? that God's grace is sufficient. There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but will with the temptation provide a way of escape or through it. Do you know what I do often? I go my own way, because I don't believe that. I think I got a better way. a better way for relief, a better way for satisfaction. You know, again, ice cream on the second shelf of my freezer doesn't talk back to me. It always gives me what I want, right? And sometimes we think that's the way to satisfaction. Do you believe that God is sufficient for you? That's what I loved about what Elliot spoke on Sunday night. You know, in those dark days, in the tough times, we can turn our attention to God and find that he is sufficient. Well, the text tells us that really, it was one of the provisions of God's grace, that God had given Caleb exactly what he needed. He had given him a faith-fueled conviction. Number three, there was a truth-trusting courage. A truth-trusting courage. Verse 12, Caleb says, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day. For you heard on that day that Anakim were there with great fortified cities. They were tall people in great fortified cities and I want that place. Why did he want that place? Well, I think there's significance to where he wanted. That was the grave site of many of the patriarchs and some of the people that lived before him. He wanted that place maybe because it was significant in their history. Maybe it was because it was a challenge, it was gonna be a testimony to what God could do through somebody who was committed to God. All we know is he says, I want that place, because that's what God had promised to me. And he was courageous. What's courage? Yeah, I heard one person say, courage is doing it scared. Doesn't mean you're not scared, but you're gonna do it anyway. because the fact is that I'm trusting in God's truth. Anyway, I think that's number three. Number four, what we see coming back over and over again in this passage as a characteristic of Caleb is that he was devoted to God. He was wholehearted in his devotion. And you read it and you heard in a couple of verses we read, you can look up other verses, but 14.14 says, because he followed God, the God of Israel, what? Fully. What would be opposite of fully? You know, half-heartedly? You ever done a job half-heartedly? When you were a kid, did you always run and clean your room? And when your mom told you to, or whoever told you to, you know, or did you kind of like do it half-heartedly? What's that like? Well, wholeheartedly was with all your guts, you might say, with your whole being. Caleb followed God. He trusted God. He followed him with his whole heart. Can I just say this for a second? Each of these four things are gifts of God's grace, but don't miss this. These things are things that we can cultivate by God's grace. You know what I'm saying? I mean, wholly devoted to God, that was God's work in him. God is at work in you both to will and to do for his good work, right? It's God that gives us the desires, but we're supposed to work hard at cultivating that. And I mentioned Jesse Martin. He visited folks in the hospital and assisted living places, homes, right up until his death. But you know what I found out about Jesse later on? And I realized this when I was laid up a little bit. You know what Jesse did? He worked hard every morning doing his stretches. He worked hard every day doing his exercises. And you know what I believe? I believe that helped him have longevity in his ministry, because how many bodies are you gonna have to do ministry? One. We get a new one one day, but not here while we're doing ministry in the church. So we need to learn to take care of our bodies, okay? We need to work on having that faith. And how do we get more faith? It's like a muscle that we can exercise. How do you exercise your muscle of faith? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. As Aaron challenged us on Sunday, we gotta be in the Word and just devour it so we can learn more about delight in God. And then we have to practice it. You have to put it into practice every day. Are you putting God's Word into practice every day? Anyway, don't miss that. Just challenge to look at that list and see what it is that you can do to cultivate these gifts of God's grace. So we say, first of all, if I'm gonna be the kind of person that God uses powerfully as I do his work, I have to set my heart to finish God's work. I have to seize God's gracious provision to do the work. And in the middle of page two, we have to seek the encouragement of God's people as we do the work. You wanna look over to Judges real quick with me? Let's just look over Judges for a second, Judges chapter one. Don't underestimate how much God can use you in the ministry you have now, whatever capacity it is, to encourage God's people as you finish the work. Look at Judges 1, verse 20, and it really sets Caleb out as a remarkable example of somebody who did something that most others didn't. Verse 20 of Judges 1, Then he gave Hebron to Caleb as Moses had promised. And what did Caleb do? What did he do? Three words. He drove out the people, right? He drove them out. He did it. You see that in verse 20. Well, look at verse 19. The people of Judah, midway through the verse, did not do what? They didn't do it. Look at verse 21. The sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites. Look at verse 27. Then Manasseh did not take possession. Verse 29, neither did Ephraim. Verse 30, Zebulon did not. Asher in verse 31 did not. Naphtali in verse 33 did not. Did not, did not, did not, but Caleb did. He finished the work. He finished the work that God had given him to do. And he knew that it wasn't by his strength alone. Remember back to Joshua 14, he knew that he had to do the work, but who was gonna do the work through him? God was. God was the one doing the work. So don't miss that. Number three, seek the encouragement of God's people as you do the work. Caleb was a person, he was really, you might say a trophy or a testimony of God's grace that showed that the work can be done. It's interesting, if you're still in Judges 1, verse 19 says that Judah, they could not because of these chariots. And yet we see in chapter two in verse one and following that it wasn't just they couldn't, but they didn't obey God. And it says that over and over again in this chapter one of the tribes that did not do the work, but not Caleb. Cale was a testimony of God's grace that the work can be done. Hey, listen, did you know that you being here is a testimony of God's grace? Some of you, you probably had to get warmed up for about an hour before you got here, right? You know, I started working these joints out and doing all these things. But just you being here is a testimony that you can keep following Christ. Some of you who are younger, I'm so thankful for young people, younger people, sorry, I guess they're adults, but they're young people here who are serving God by just being here and being a testimony of God's grace. So many things that we can do. Well, quickly, let's wrap this up. You see the second bullet point there, God used Caleb to show that you can trust God to keep his word, even if it takes time. Look at the passage that I have on your notes from Joshua 21. Says, so the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had swore to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side according to all that he had sworn to their fathers. And no one of all their enemies stood before them. The Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed, all came to pass. I mean, all those years ago, God makes a promise to Abraham and it gets dark through the end of Genesis and Exodus. It's like, where is God and what's he gonna do? And God delivers his people and brings them all the way over to the promised land and gets them in the land and he keeps his promise. And Caleb is a person who was a testimony that God keeps his promise, even though, as I put here, even if it takes time. Listen, seek the encouragement of this body of Christ and the big body of Christ by simply being faithful to finish the work God's given you to do. So let me just conclude with two things. Number one, maybe you needed to be encouraged in your work tonight from the life of Caleb. Just examine your life and how can you be encouraged from the example that he's given us. But secondly, I just want you to consider something. And it's the question is this, what is the work God wants you to do for him at this point in your life? Not what you did 40 years ago, or four years ago, or however long ago, what is the work God wants for you to do right now at this point in your life? And by God's grace, we're gonna take a look at somebody who God used mightily to accomplish the work that God had put in his heart to do, as God gives us opportunity next month. Consider the verse at the bottom of the page, and that's who we'll look at, Nehemiah. Nehemiah said, and I rose in the night, I and a few men with me, and did not tell anyone what God was putting in my mind to do for Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding." God put something in Nehemiah's heart. And the question is, how did God bring that into being? I'll give you a preview. Prayer is saturated in the book of Nehemiah. And I want us to look at how God advanced this work that God had given Nehemiah to do through prayer and other means. But before we do that, would you take some time over the next two weeks and just consider what is the work that God has given you to do for his glory and for the good of our church and the good of the individuals in it that he might get even more glory from us until when? Until he calls us home to heaven, until Jesus returns. But don't get into victory formation, okay? It's not time yet. It's not time yet. Keep, keep working for God. Let me lead us in prayer and just ask for God's help as we consider this and then we'll sing one last song together. Father, thank you so much for your word that just gives us encouragement and hope. God, thank you for the people in the Bible who give us a testimony of your grace and your sustaining grace and what you can do through just one person. who loves you, is devoted to you with all their heart. And God, I just can't imagine if a room full of people like this would just really be encouraged and be recommitted to finishing the work you've given us to do, which you might be pleased to do in the coming year in and through our church. And over the next few decades, if you give us the opportunity, we pray. So we commit ourselves to you. We ask for you to work through us in Christ's name, amen.