Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Caleb's Faith

Bryan Schneider · May 14, 2022

Joshua 14; Joshua 15:13-19

sharonrpc.org/sermons/caleb-s-faith

Summary

Caleb remembers the Lord's promise after forty-five years and testifies that God—not Caleb's own strength—has preserved him to receive it.
His faithful report as a spy required courage to stand against a fearful majority that was prepared to reject and even kill its faithful witnesses.
Courageous faith may be lonely, but the Lord's presence and promises remain the believer's strength when human support disappears.
At eighty-five Caleb still asks for the mountain and fortified cities, encouraging older believers to persevere and model lifelong trust.
Caleb's faith is active: he does not merely speak about the promise but goes to possess Hebron in dependence on the Lord.
He challenges the next generation to act faithfully, and Achsah confidently asks her generous father for the springs needed with her land.
Living faith clings to Christ's promises, produces obedient works through the Spirit, and asks the Father for needed blessing without presumption.

Which past act of God's faithfulness should I remember while waiting for a promise to be fulfilled?
Where might faithfulness require standing alone against the moral or spiritual pressure of a majority?
Is my courage grounded in personality and strength, or in the Lord who promises never to forsake his people?
How can older believers model persevering faith and challenge the next generation toward obedience?
What action would demonstrate that my stated confidence in God's Word is living rather than merely verbal?
Do I acknowledge God's sovereignty while prayerfully pursuing the good works he has prepared?
What needed blessing can I ask from my heavenly Father with humble confidence in his generosity?

Wholehearted faith: A sustained reliance upon the Lord and his promise that shapes courage, obedience, and perseverance across a lifetime.
Lonely faith: Faithful allegiance to God when a surrounding majority rejects his Word and human companionship becomes costly.
Perseverance: Continuing in faith and obedience through waiting, grief, age, opposition, and weakness because God preserves his people.
Hebron: The mountain inheritance promised to Caleb and occupied by the Anakim, which he receives and acts to possess.
Living faith: Faith that rests on God's promise and necessarily expresses itself in obedient action and holy fruit.
Achsah: Caleb's daughter, whose request for upper and lower springs displays confidence in her father's generosity and the promised inheritance.