ALL IN
Ever been at the point of no return?
I have. It’s super scary . . . and super exhilarating all at the same time.
For me, I can think of numerous big waves that I’ve caught, paddled into, literally with my heart in my mouth and just went anyway, hoping that, despite its size and shape, would be the best ride of my life. Or hopping into a Lamborghini Hurricane on an air force base in the States and deciding then and there that when I’m on the runway, I’m doing pedal to the metal the whole way, no pulling back or easing up, to crack 300km/h. Or jumping off the waterfall at Mangamuka . . . you know what I mean! All or nothing, here we goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……..
Caleb was that kind of guy. All in. 100%. Fully committed. Holding nothing back. Hundy.
Despite all the others around him saying, “Nah . . . don’t . . . no . . . shouldn’t . . . we’re can’t . . . we are too afraid . . . it can’t be done . . .”, he stayed the course and nailed it.
In fact, he described himself as someone who “…wholly followed after the Lord…” (Joshua 14).
And as a result, Caleb had amazing success. He took a mountain full of giants and smoked them all, making it his and setting up himself and the generations to come with success. Is this what you want in your life?
The secret, repeatedly reinforced throughout Joshua 14,
WHOLLY FOLLOW AFTER THE LORD
As a church we have just concluded our study on Joshua 14 and here are some key points and quotes and sayings to grab a hold of:
Commit wholeheartedly to following after the ways of the Lord
Know where you’ve come from and DON’T GO BACK
Know what God has called you to and stay focused on His calling
Do not follow the ways of this world - don’t follow the crowd
Stay/get in shape, physically and spiritually
Present your requests to the Lord, both verbally and in written form
Do not tolerate giants (things in your life or the lives of your children that are not good)
What you allow, you actually encourage
The following chapters are clear patterns for living wholly after the Lord
1 Timothy 6
2 Timothy 4
Romans 12
Don’t hold back whanau in pursuing the things of the Lord.
Turn away from evil (and bad company . . .) and choose to wholly follow after the Lord.
Success in every area of your life is yours when you do so.
Action points:
Write down 3 things that need to CHANGE in your life - then cross them out
Write down 3 things you would like to see MORE of in your life - then highlight them
Ask the Lord to give you 3 action steps that you can practically do to initiate positive change in your life and home