Sermon Transcript
Today we’re gonna hear from Brad Cole, and we’re gonna hear about his— how his story intersects with the story of Caleb from the Old Testament. And in order to cover the life of Caleb, we’re going to read from a bunch of different sections of scripture, different chapters, starting in Numbers, and then we’ll conclude with the book of Joshua. So we will begin in Numbers chapter 13, starting in verse 1. The Lord said to Moses, send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe, send, send one of its leaders.
So these men went out. At the end of 40 days, they returned from exploring the land. They gave Moses this account: we went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev, the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country, and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan. Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, we should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. But the other men who had gone up with him said, we can’t attack those people, they are stronger than we are. Moving ahead to Numbers 14, which is after the majority of the Israelites lost faith that they could move forward into the land except for a handful of people including Caleb.
And it’s after Moses then interceded on behalf of the majority that the Lord would forgive them and for their lack of faith. Picking up in verse 20, it says, the Lord replied to Moses, I have forgiven them as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live, and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but who disobeyed me and tested me 10 times, not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. Not one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
Fast forward more than 4 decades later to the end of Caleb’s life when the rest of the generation had passed away and now the new generation going into the land, from Joshua chapter 14. Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kezite said to him, you know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land and and I brought him back a report according to my convictions. But my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.
So on that day Moses swore to me, the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said this to Moses while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.
Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourselves heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kezite ever since because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.
Then the land had rest from war. I’d like to invite up Brad at this time. We are really looking forward to hearing more of your story, Brad, and how God brought you to himself. We’re so grateful for your service here to our church for so many years, so we look forward to hearing what you’re gonna say. You want your phone?
Okay.
Well, for me, every Sunday I come here and I don’t do this, and neither do you listen to me, but I’m ready to go home after singing that and hearing the Scripture. Amen. It’s all great. Good morning. Some of you may recognize me.
I’ve been around here for a long time, 46 years in fact. Some of you are going to get to know me today a little bit from my story. It’s an honor to share this with you today. I’ve served along with Christy in a wide variety of ministries here at Bridges Church, from adult life group leader to adult choir to children’s ministry to children’s choir. We even served in high school survival camp for 15 years.
And I have to give a shout out to John Acord, who’s sitting in the back here in the middle, your customary spot, John. 30-plus years he served at survival camp. So what a servant and a great example to me. And I’ve helped organize basketball leagues on Thursday nights for 20 years. And over these past 15 years, Christy and I have helped out in the 4th and 5th grade.
She does the teaching, I help out and fill in most of the time. And most recently we’ve assisted with marriage conferences. So we’ve been busy. And I’ve had the privilege of serving as a deacon and as an elder here at the church through the last number of years. I love our church and I love you and I love the people that God’s brought here to worship and serve the kingdom here.
But I identify with this biblical character of Caleb, partner of Joshua and a favorite of mine. He was a beacon of unwavering faith, courageous action, and a model servant leader. He’s kind of been my hero. When I was young, his story really intrigued me initially, and throughout my life it’s inspired me as I reflected on it, and later in life it’s become aspirational for me. He lived an exemplary life that’s hard to live up to.
But let’s pray as we kind of jump into his story, okay? Would you pray with me? Father, you know what is needed today in this place, what I need to say and who needs to hear it. I’d ask that your Spirit take over these next minutes and that you would get all the glory for what my life story shows of your faithfulness and how Caleb’s story demonstrated your faithfulness long ago. May we be encouraged by having been here today.
In Jesus’ name, amen. God’s hand has been evident in my life from a really early age. I don’t have that big come-to-Jesus moment or dramatic tale of God rescued me from something, but I do have a story of God’s faithfulness throughout my life. My kids think I’m emotional. I’m just getting started.
Anyway, I told them I’m not. I guess I am. Both my parents came to Christ while my dad was serving in the military in Texas. And I was 4 years old when I prayed with my mother in El Paso, Texas to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. And as my dad was exiting the Army, he decided to pursue his graduate studies in theology.
And we were off to Talbot Seminary at Biola University. I’ll be forever glad that we left Texas and we landed in California. I see some friends who were just in Texas and I’m glad to be in California. When I was 8 years old, my dad completed his graduate studies and we headed to Humboldt County on the Northern California coast. And while living there, I learned to play baseball and basketball.
And at 12 years old, I had a dream. I wanted to play professional baseball, not basketball, my now lifelong passion. If you know me, you’re probably tired of talking to me about basketball, but I played baseball and I played it all the time. By the time I was 12 years old, I was leading our league in home runs and hitting. I felt I was on my way.
My dream was coming true. However, my dad had other plans. He took a pastorate in a new location. We moved to what I thought was the big city, Sacramento. Now the move meant I would miss the all-star tournaments I had earned, something I had dreamed of, and my now baseball dream seemed further away.
No all-star tournaments. We were moving. I was leaving school and friends behind. I was heartbroken, not knowing that God had bigger lessons for me ahead in Sacramento. There I fell further in love with sports and ultimately basketball and again began to grow in my faith and trust in God.
It was in Sacramento the summer after my freshman year that I was baptized at the age of 14. By this time I had really owned my faith and was really trying to live it out and share Christ with my friends. I began to gravitate towards more and more hours on the basketball court. Excuse me. But sports wasn’t my only passion.
Music was something I really enjoyed. I sang in our church choir. I played the baritone in the school band. Well, I did until a basketball game and a concert conflicted. You can imagine what’s happening.
The band director said, if you don’t show up for the concert, you’re getting an F. So it was basketball or the band. Guess what won? Ended my band days right then and there. I regularly attended youth group activities still. I was learning and memorizing scripture.
And as I studied God’s word through our youth group and my dad’s many sermons, I became intrigued with certain Old Testament characters and how they lived out their faith. I picked one today. And one of the stories I was intrigued by, as I said, was Caleb’s. I couldn’t seem to get away from Caleb. How many people focus on Caleb?
He’s this little guy, you know, you get 2 or 3 chapters, you don’t hear much about him. But anyway, Let’s look at Caleb a little bit. In Numbers 13, Caleb is chosen along with Joshua and 10 others to scout out the land of Canaan, the land God had promised to give them. Unlike the 10 other spies who returned in fear and discouragement, Caleb saw the land’s abundance and potential. Caleb possessed a trusting heart in God and believed God’s promise to give them the land.
Numbers 14 depicts a pivotal moment. The 10 other spies, filled with fear, spread doubt among the Israelites. Who panicked and rebelled against God’s leadership. In this tumultuous scene, Caleb emerges as a courageous leader. He, along with Joshua, passionately defend God’s character and potential of the land that God had promised.
Caleb exemplified a courageous heart willing to stand up for what’s right. And then in Joshua 14, we see the reward for Caleb’s faithfulness. He’s allowed to enter the Promised Land. Even in his old age, Caleb’s commitment didn’t diminish. He actively claimed his inheritance, the city of Hebron, in his old age.
Caleb had a servant’s heart and remained in active service throughout his life. Caleb’s life story has become in reality more aspirational, hard to match up to, as I’ve desired to follow God and to serve faithfully as Caleb did.
So back to my story. As a young man, baseball and basketball continued to be important and loved by me, maybe too much. I spent hours honing my skills, trying to get better. And during my freshman year of high school, I was experiencing significant pain in my left arm and elbow, so much so that I started taking cortisone shots to be able to swing a bat. The pain became so intense that after summer league that year, I was forced to give up baseball forever.
This is the same summer, I remind you, I was baptized and fully committed my life to follow Christ. In the midst of what was a challenging time, I knew that following Christ had to be number one. I grew several more inches that summer, reaching 6 feet 2 inches tall. I focused solely on basketball, and as a sophomore, when the basketball season rolled around, I found myself starting on the varsity team. Not usual for a sophomore.
My elbow still hurt at times, but I could play. God had seen fit to remove one sport from me and give me a growth spurt, athletic ability, and a passion to play. I played basketball day and night and continued to grow taller. It was pretty hot in Sacramento, let me tell you. You could find me on almost any day anywhere there was a hoop, be it hardwood or blacktop.
I was always looking for a game against guys bigger, stronger, faster, better than me, trying to get better. And high school came with accolades, and after a number of scholarship offers, I chose Biola University. And without basketball, who knows where I would have ended up? God was at work. And he was to be trusted.
Thankfully, basketball allowed me to attend Biola University as my parents could not afford a private Christian college, and I was able to complete my degrees in business and theology. As an aside, I’ve been a Biola University trustee for 20-plus years, and it brings me great joy to promote the university. So you gotta spare me a minute.
Bridges has had a steady stream of students graduate from this uniquely Christian university. Recent graduates are certainly exemplary. I wanna shout out Laura Perez, Roy Perez, Andrus Spolar, I think he’s here, Rachel Spolar, and soon to graduate, excuse me, Samantha Chen, Maylynn Hill, Tyler Hill, Sophia Mota, who’s working with our kids right now, and many other past graduates such as my 2 daughters, Amy and Megan, who came to church today. Thanks for coming to church. And Megan Mueller, Sandy Rivers, Joanne Otto, Jared Otto, and Christy Montgomery Cole, to name a few.
And further, Bridges missionaries Dave Deal and Rich and Sue Lackey. Biola has given me many gifts. I met Christy there and seriously considered my faith walk there. I was challenged to live a life that served the kingdom there. I injured my knee, missed a season of basketball, yet was able to complete 2 evangelistic basketball mission trips while I was there that really had a transformational effect on my life, and I found lifelong friends there.
During these college years, I attended the EV Free Church in Fullerton where Chuck Swindoll was the pastor. I was getting spoiled, I’ll tell you. Getting to hear from him and learn from him on Sunday morning and Sunday night was a blessing. This was a very impactful time in my life, increasing my desire to make a lifelong impact for the kingdom. My path at Biola led me to a young lady who I found both beautiful— not expected— both inside and out.
It just took us a while. We didn’t date until my junior year, and I noticed her in the fall of her freshman year. You’re supposed to sit over here. I’m sorry I missed you. Yeah, I know, it was— I was slow on the uptake.
It took me 2 years to ask her out. But truth was, she wasn’t ready for me. Either. Christy and I were married here in this very room shortly after my graduation, and we’ll celebrate in a couple of weeks our 46th wedding anniversary.
We have 2 daughters serving the kingdom today with their unique gifts, for which we are grateful and humbled by. One, Megan, has served as children’s pastor and as director of belongings and life groups at Menlo Church. And Amy is active and leading ministries at Creekside Bible Church where our son-in-law Derek serves as associate pastor. We have 3 grandchildren who we love dearly, and you can see us all here, I think. There we are.
We are here, we’re at SFO on our way to Costa Rica this summer. And you may also recognize my mother-in-law. She changed seats too. She’s with the family, Emma Lou Montgomery, who has been faithfully attending this church for more than 50 years.
Scripture teaches us that God is wise and knows the best course for our lives. It is our role to trust him even as Caleb did. God gave Caleb courage to stand on his promise even when those around him disagreed. And what was Caleb’s reward? A parched wilderness for 40 years.
A land with giants and fortified cities that God had promised didn’t look so good. And a hill country to inhabit full of giants. And what did he do? He came away ready for the next challenge. He trusted God to be faithful, to protect him and prosper him.
Well, God has given Christy and me many opportunities to assess our trust in him through the challenges or the God-given giants in our own lives. And he has undoubtedly given you challenges to walk through in your life. I’m sure I’d like to share a few of those giants from our lives with you.
When we were expecting our first child, Amy, we found out that Christy had a rare blood condition that was very dangerous. The condition was so rare that only one other case was known anywhere in the world. The danger to Amy was life-threatening, and the blood condition was so unknown that doctors at Stanford weren’t sure of the level of danger to Christy.
I worried about losing them both. The fear of losing them had become a giant in the land for me. Do I trust or become angry? Is God still at work in my life?
Wise doctors and many procedures later, including 4 amniocentesis, the needles like that big, they stuck in my wife.
A needle that scared me, but not Christy. She’s still my hero. Thank you for doing that. And we had a healthy girl who grew to love Jesus, became a teacher, and now has 3 beautiful children. Have you seen?
God was at work in us, asking us to trust him. And when our second child, Megan, was on her way, we faced the same challenge. The condition hadn’t gone away. It was unique to Christy, I guess. And again, 3 big needles.
And Megan was born healthy and we rejoiced once again. And Megan grew to love Jesus and serve him. And again, I looked at Caleb who didn’t fear the giants in his life. Well, the challenges kept coming. Within a year of Megan’s birth, while I was working at a small startup that was struggling, I had the duty as chief financial officer to lay myself off.
So here we are with 2 small children. I have no job. We have no money to pay the next mortgage. Another giant in my life and a chance to fear or become angry or trust God. Do we demand a different path or put ourselves in God’s seat, running our lives from our limited perspective and not trust his plan as the other 10 spies did in Caleb’s story?
Do we give up? Just as Caleb faced many giants, my giants continued to come at me too. The next month, my mom dies from recurrent brain cancer.
Here I am, 28 years old. I have no job. We have 2 small children. We’re still behind on mortgage payments. My dad then decides to remarry virtually immediately, 10 weeks after mom dies and moves to Wisconsin.
Do I see God as loving and wise and quote, the giver of every good and perfect gift as stated in James 1:17? My limited view of the world and what God is doing is being challenged. And God is saying in this moment, child, will you trust me? Do you love me? Caleb must have wondered the same thing after 40 years in the desert when the odds seemed so stacked against him.
He had done the right thing and yet he was wandering for 40 years. I haven’t had a mother or a father who was present in my life for the past 40 years. My own desert of sorts, I guess you could say. God knew what I needed then, and God knows what I need today. By the way, if you’re paying close attention, you can do a little math.
I just gave you my age. It’s about 2 pages back, but anyway, you can get it. God then provides in the midst of all these challenging things a great job in a whole new industry, life sciences, and ultimately healthcare technology. Which has been wonderfully fulfilling, exciting work for the rest of my career. In the decades that followed, I find myself as chief financial officer at multiple publicly traded companies, and then as chief operating officer and serving on multiple boards.
These executive roles and board positions all require courage and truth-telling. Caleb’s story comes back to encourage me once again. Do I speak up with the executive team? Do I speak up in the boardroom when the truth needs to be told? The Holy Spirit is in me, I believe, to prompt me to listen to him and, and have the courage to act and speak up.
Caleb had the courage to speak the truth against his peers and the crowd. God expects us to speak the truth and will give us the courage and strength to do so. I believe one of the giants I faced while a chief financial officer was an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Due to alleged insider trading of our company’s stock by certain employees.
Another giant, multiple shareholder class action lawsuits requiring depositions and personal attorneys, it brought me to a crossroads, to choose fear or to trust God again for the outcome. I found myself doing my best to trust God to defeat the giant. At other points in my career, the Department of Justice more than once investigated our company practices and alleged civil damages and threatened criminal prosecution. These investigations and threats and allegations lingered for multiple years. And again, do I fear the giant or trust God’s plan?
One thing I do know, looking back, God was giving me the opportunity to grow in my trust and dependence on him. I was forbidden by the powers that be during these investigations to discuss anything with anyone except except Christy for multiple years.
Things, things were going on and you guys didn’t know, but trusting that God knew and had a plan for my life gave me hope and peace in the face of these giants, a peace that only a believer can understand. Even in a church or faith setting like what Caleb faced with the children of Israel, truth-seeking and truth-telling are important. It’s important acts of faith. It requires courage even among us. I would like to share 2 examples of acting on faith when others are fearful.
In the 1970s, when the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton was considering substantial expansion while Chuck Swindoll was pastor there and I was attending, there was a concern in the congregation about the wisdom of such an act— expanding the property. My friend’s father was head of the elder board. He was challenged by a fearful member in a large meeting with this question: What if Pastor Chuck left? Now, Swindoll was a big deal, right? The church was, I mean, 5 services and you couldn’t get in the door.
And this person said, where are we gonna be if Chuck leaves? And David’s simple answer, which I have cherished ever since, was right where God wants us. Because whether you believe this is God’s will, God continues to bless that ministry to this day. In 2008, Bridges had an $800,000 debt from the Family Center.
The debt had been on the books for years with no plan to pay it off. A small group of leaders believed that God was calling us to pay off the debt. Not everyone agreed. Quote, this is what I, we heard here. It is too much to ask to pay it all off.
Now is not the time. We can’t afford it. We saw God provide the funds to not only pay off the debt and more funds for campus improvements, Even to fix the great flood that Austin referred to in this room a couple weeks ago. All funds came in through the generosity of the people here at Bridges. I can testify to God’s faithful provision for our church year after year.
The real test in life, the test of our trust in God, is not when the good things by human standards happen to us. In my case, meeting Christy. Being father to 2 wonderful women, seeing grandchildren come to us from other continents, being blessed for a church where I hear— can hear the gospel preached and I can worship like I did today, and a community of believers can be enjoyed. These are all great blessings in my life. They’re wonderful things.
And then it’s easy to trust God when you think about all those things. No, the real test of our trust and faithfulness comes when those things that I didn’t want or plan for come. The sufferings of life, as it were, those giants in the land. They did come and they will come again. Do I trust God to conquer them as he sees fit?
God is in the midst of every one of them. What I call hard and what I call good, he calls them all worthwhile for my good. Caleb remembered God’s word, which gave him courage and confidence. I need to do the same. Excuse me while I fumble around here.
So here are 4 quick takeaways from Caleb’s exemplary life that I want you to walk out of here with. Forget about me. Just think about what you learned from Caleb. Caleb’s story instructs me to trust when I can’t see what God is doing. Sadly, the Israelites succumbed to fear, resulting in them being forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
What about Caleb, who had trusted God to give them the land? Caleb had trusted God, yet was in the desert for the same 40 years, not knowing the end. Sometimes while we wait and we can’t see what God is doing, it feels like wandering with no good end. He loves me and you. He rules over what we don’t understand in the moment with our good in mind.
Secondly, Caleb’s story shows me that God’s plan is always best. He loves me more than I can imagine.
And to quote Pastor Dan, From the bottom of the ocean to the highest heaven. That’s how much God loves you. You can’t imagine. So God’s plan is always better than my plan. I don’t have the right long-term perspective and know best, and God is more interested in forming my spiritual character and my— than my comfort or earthly enjoyment.
My life has its greatest purpose and ultimate fulfillment when God is directing it. One of my favorite devotion writers, Paul David Tripp, Puts it this way in his book. I feel like buying everybody a book. No, you’re not getting a book today, but you should all read this book, New Morning Mercies. I recommend it.
He says this, quote, my rest is not to be found in figuring my life out, but in trusting the one who has it all figured out for his glory and my good. Thirdly, Caleb’s story inspires me to have the courage to speak what God is prompting in my heart. The majority isn’t always right. Caleb’s actions weren’t just about the land. He stood against the tide of doubt, remaining God— remaining and believing in God’s promises and their call to be faithful.
He called people to be faithful. This was an act of courage which teaches us the importance of speaking the truth even when it’s unpopular. And lastly, Caleb’s story instructs us to remain active in service to God and and use our God-given gifts throughout our lives. When the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land, Caleb, despite his age, still desired to serve God. He reminded Joshua of the promise made to him years ago, the inheritance of Hebron, which we read about.
He had that same unwavering spirit as he aged as he had in his early years. He claimed his inheritance in the land of Anakim, the land of giants. You do the math, at the age of 85, an age that certainly warrants retirement, Caleb continued to serve God. I just love how this passage in Joshua 14 is so matter-of-fact about the victory over the giant inhabitants and the resulting peace. There’s not a single detail that was needed about what happened.
And I’ll just paraphrase verse 14 and 15. Hebron became Caleb’s land and rested from war.
God took care of Caleb, and he’ll take care of you, and he’ll take care of me.
Caleb’s story has been a model for me to trust God in all the challenges or the giants that are part of my story, to remain faithful and persevere in all these circumstances. His life reminds me to stand firm in my convictions with courage regardless of others and to continue to serve God even into my old age. Anybody know how old I am?
68, do your math. Okay, God desires to transform our lives so they can give him glory. Yet life transformation starts by first being reconciled with God. And here’s the best description I know of reconciliation with God as we close. Despite our sin, you and I have been welcomed into an eternal relationship with God.
God Almighty, because Jesus fully met all the requirements of God that we failed to meet. We no longer have to fear God’s wrath once we trust in Jesus’ provision through the cross. We no longer have to measure up in order to achieve God’s acceptance. We are God’s forever and ever. He will never turn his back on us.
He is at work transforming me and you. We can serve him and we can rest in God’s love Because our relationship does not depend on our faithfulness, but on his faithfulness. He can be trusted. Let’s pray.
Dear God, may we all learn to trust you with all the giants in our lives and find our confidence in knowing that you love us and you know what is best for us and to be able to trust you fully. And as we close, let’s reflect on Paul’s writing in his last letter to the church in Thessalonica. As we pray, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Amen. Amen.
