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This is Michael Simone, and I'm happy to be at Salt Church on the 10th of September, 2023, to bring this message that I titled, Whatever It Takes, Joshua Chapter 14. I'm taking you back about 3,500 years. It's 1406 BC, and Caleb and Joshua had once been spies to go in to see the land, the promised land. There were 12 spies. 10 spies voted not to go, and so the Israelites were then going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
But Caleb still had it on his heart that he should have gone, and they shouldn't have listened to the 10 that voted no, because they were afraid of giants. They were afraid of being squashed by their enemies. And now it says, I was 40 years old when Moses sent me to explore the land, 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. And whenever you read wholeheartedly, that's the same as saying, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. 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'm 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's the cry of Caleb's heart. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the giants were there and their cities were large and fortified.
But the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. Now give me this hill country. Here are the forces that can hold you back from the hill country. The first force that holds you back is what's known. Well, we know this and we're OK with knowing this and we don't know any more than this.
This is what we know. And that can hold you back just living in the what I know now. Secondly is what's safe. What's safe holds you back. We know we're safe.
We want to stay safe. We keep everybody safe. Let's be safe. Let's protect ourselves. That's going to hold you back from the hill country.
The next thing that's going to hold you back is what's easy. If it's easy, we don't have to stress and strain. If it's easy, we kind of know the ropes. Let's just do what's easy and not put all this pressure on us. I just need to understand us!
I hope you gotbullpenny! And interestingly, we're considering poverty. On the way down, we're doing the same aspect, On the way down, we're doing competing dependence. I'm doing all your…! And we're talking elsewhere.
The thing that holds you back from the hill country is what's comfortable. What's comfortable? What's known? What's safe? What's easy?
What's comfortable? Somebody once said you can have courage or you can have comfort, but you can't have them both. Last week, Leon talked about three things that really made an impact on me. He said, remember the past. You have to know where you came from.
You have to know what the past was about, the lessons you learned, the strategic principles that are guiding you, that God is teaching you, because he taught you those things in the past. But then you have to move on from the past. You have to discern the present. Where are we now? What do we have to do now?
What's God leading us into now? And then you have to posture for the future, or sometimes I say it this way, create the future. Remember the past. Discern the present. Create the future.
The key is, it's not about you. You can't be deterred by what's known, what's safe, what's easier, what's comfortable. Remember the past. Discern the present. Posture for the future.
The key is, it's not about you. Where did I find that? I found it in Luke 9, verse 23. Then he said to them all, this is Jesus. Then he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Deny themselves. Take up their cross daily. It's not about you. And the message, it puts it this way. Then he told them what they could expect for themselves.
Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. We're following him. He's guiding us. He's preparing the future for us. It's time to move.
It's not about us. Now give me this hill. And so Caleb had momentum. That's what he had at that point when he said, now give me this hill. The momentum was building.
So let's talk a little bit about momentum. Momentum is ignited by vision. Vision has to be white hot. You have to see it before you get there. The apostle Paul put it this way.
He said, therefore, we do not lose heart for this momentary light. Affliction is not to be compared to the glory that is to come. So we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are only temporary, but the things that are unseen last forever. Paul said to have momentum, you have to have vision.
Momentum is activated by faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please God, it says in Hebrews 11, 6. Without faith, it's impossible to please God because he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him. Earnestly seeking him is doing whatever it takes. The momentum is there.
When you activate it by faith the momentum is there when it's ignited by vision. Momentum is supported by systems. One of the spiritual gifts, and I don't have it myself, but one of the spiritual gifts is administration. You have to have systems, you have to have organization, you have to have strategy, you have to have somebody who's going to keep you on track, and that's a gift for momentum-seeking people. And then finally, momentum is sustained by grit.
Grit also is a Whatever It Takes decision. We're not going to be stopped, we're not going to be waylaid, we're not going to be pushed off to the side of the road. Momentum is ignited by vision, it's activated by faith, it's supported by systems, and it's sustained by grit. And we need momentum as we move ahead as a church. Craig Groeschel put it this way, you can make excuses, or you can make progress, but you can't make both.
And Craig Groeschel on his recent podcast talked about the three lines that you have to cross to get to the future. So as you have momentum, you're going to end up crossing three lines, and here they are. Line one is, I believe enough to benefit from the mission. This is about me, I'm getting something out of it. Even though it's not about you, you still are into it because you get something out of it.
I believe enough to benefit from the mission. Line two is, I believe enough to contribute comfortably to the mission. Remember I said you can have courage, or you can have comfort, but you can't have both? Well, line two, you have to cross that line. I believe enough to contribute comfortably to the mission.
But nothing happens in terms of momentum until you cross line three. I believe enough to give my life to the mission. This is where momentum is built. I believe enough to give my life to the mission. This is where momentum blasts off.
Another way to look at this is there's a continuum, let's say, and there's a line, and just to the right of that line, there's a cross, and that cross represents the finished work of Christ that he did for you and for me. To the left of that line with the cross, there are seekers. There are people who are trying to figure out, what's my life about? Why am I empty inside? And where am I going with my life?
And where am I going with my life? Then they make a decision to accept it. Christ comes into their life and they start to be grounded. Then they become what's called a new believer. They don't know everything.
They hardly know anything. They don't know how to get from Genesis to Revelation, but they know how to carry a Bible. They know how to read a Bible and they start to learn and they start to grow. When I first did that in my own life, somebody said, start reading the Gospel of John. And so I started to read the Gospel of John and learn about this person, Jesus.
I was a new believer. And then the next level, as you go to the right, is the friend of God or friends of God. You get to be a friend of God and you feel like God's my friend and I'm God's friend. But guess what? Friends of God are only like halfway there.
You're a friend of God because you see the good things that God does for you. You see the benefits that you get from the connection that you have with God. But it's not about you. It's not about benefits. So you have to keep moving to the right.
And then you start to be a growing follower. You start to be somebody who starts to understand maturity. Start to be somebody who understands what it means to keep going when the going gets tough. It's that whole grit factor again. A growing follower keeps going to the place of maturity.
And then finally, churches that prevail, churches that prevail become whatever it takes people. They become filled with whatever it takes people. You can't stop whatever it takes people. They keep going in the face of great obstacles. They keep going when there are all kinds of question marks on the map.
They trust. They hope. They have faith. They have life. They bring faith and life together every single day.
So let me tell you what about Paul's whatever it takes attitude that he talked about in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 19 to 23. 1 Corinthians 9 verses 19 to 23. This is Paul's whatever it takes attitude. Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win the Jews.
To those under the law, I became like one under the law, though I myself am not under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law, though I am not free from God's law, but am under Christ's law. So as to win those not having the law, to the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. And then listen to this, to this crescendo here, to the, to the rise in his heartbeat when he says it this way. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
And then you have to ask the question, why? Why was Paul willing to do whatever it takes through all these opportunities for relationships with all different kinds of people, not forcing them to be like he was, but listening to them and becoming like they are, becoming what their cultural dictates are about and speaking into their culture. Paul said this in verse 23, I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. He knows who he is. He knows where he's going.
He knows that Jesus is the hope of the world. He knows that the local church is the hope of the world. When it's all working correctly, when there's momentum, when there's grit, when there's whatever it takes, when everybody knows it's not about me, it's not about you. So here's what's coming in the future of Salt Church. First, it's not about you.
So if you start to feel uncomfortable and things are a little bit out of your zone, it's not about you. Second, we've got to be line three people. We have to cross line three and make sure that we're willing to do whatever it takes all the time to be everything that God wants us to be. And then we have to be whatever it takes people all the time. And when we are whatever it takes people all the time, God will do something amazing in our lives.
God will do something amazing in the life of Salt Church. You know, when Paul talked about all the adjustments he was making, that wasn't easy necessarily for Paul. But he was saying, I am willing to make adjustments. I'm willing to not just use the language that I know how to use. I'm willing to listen.
I'm willing to use words that I would not usually use. I'm not going to put people in a box. I'm not going to force people to live inside of my box. And that's what it means to be whatever it takes people. That's what it means to be able to say with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, now give me this hill.
Let's be that kind of a church. Let's be people who say whatever it takes. Let's do whatever God allows us to do as a church that we might win to Jesus Christ people who right now are far from him. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. Dear Heavenly Father, guide us as we hear these words of Paul.
Guide us as we hear the heartbeat of Caleb. May we be people who say, now give us this hill. May we be people who say, to the weak I became weak to win the weak. I've become all things to all people. So that by all possible means, I might save some.
Father, allow us to make the adjustments and allow us to cross line three and allow us, Father, to live whatever takes lives for your honor and glory. In Jesus name. Amen. This is Michael Simone and I'm happy to be at Salt Church on the 10th of September 2023 to bring this message that I titled, Whatever It Takes, Joshua Chapter 14. I'm taking you back about 3,500 years.
It's 1406 B.C., and Caleb and Joshua had once been spies to go in to see the land, the promised land. There were 12 spies. 10 spies voted not to go, and so the Israelites were then going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
But Caleb still had it on his heart that he should have gone, and they shouldn't have listened to the 10 that voted no, because they were afraid of giants. They were afraid of being squashed by their enemies. And now it says, I was 40 years old when Moses sent me to explore the land, 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. And whenever you read wholeheartedly, that's the same as saying, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. 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'm 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's the cry of Caleb's heart. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the giants were there and their cities were large and fortified.
But the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. Now give me this hill country. Here are the forces that can hold you back from the hill country. The first force that holds you back is what's known. Well, we know this and we're okay with knowing this and we don't know any more than this.
This is what we know. And that can hold you back just living in the what I know now. Secondly is what's safe. What's safe holds you back. We know we're safe.
We want to stay safe. We want to keep everybody safe. Let's be safe. Let's protect ourselves. That's going to hold you back from the hill country.
Next thing that's going to hold you back is what's easy. If it's easy, we don't have to stress and strain. If it's easy, we kind of know the ropes. Let's just do what's easy and not put all this pressure on us. And then finally, the fourth thing that holds you back from the hill country is what's comfortable.
What's comfortable? What's known? What's safe? What's easy? What's comfortable?
Somebody once said you can have courage or you can have comfort, but you can't have them both. Last week, Liam talked about three things that really made an impact on me. He said, remember the past. You have to know. You have to know.
You have to know where you came from. You have to know what the past was about, the lessons you learned, the strategic principles that are guiding you, that God is teaching you, because he taught you those things in the past. But then you have to move on from the past. You have to discern the present. Where are we now?
What do we have to do now? What's God leading us into now? And then you have to posture for the future, or sometimes I say it this way, create the future. Remember the past. Discern the present.
Create the future. The key is, it's not about you. You can't be deterred by what's known, what's safe, what's easier, what's comfortable. Remember the past. Discern the present.
Posture for the future. The key is, it's not about you. Where did I find that? I found it in Luke chapter 9, verse 23. Then he said to them all.
This is Jesus. Then he said to them all. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Deny themselves. Take up their cross daily.
It's not about you. And the message, it puts it this way. Then he told them what they could expect for themselves. Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. We're following him.
We're following him. He's guiding us. He's preparing the future for us. It's time to move. It's not about us.
Now give me this hill. And so Caleb had momentum. That's what he had at that point when he said, now give me this hill. The momentum was building. So let's talk a little bit about momentum.
Momentum is ignited by vision. Vision has to be white hot. You have to see it before you get there. The apostle Paul put it this way. He said, therefore, we do not lose heart for this momentary light.
Affliction is not to be compared to the glory that is to come. So we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are only temporary, but the things that are unseen last forever. Paul said to have momentum, you have to have vision. Momentum is activated by faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
It says in Hebrews 11, 6, without faith, it's impossible to please God because he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him. Earnestly seeking him is doing whatever it takes. The momentum is there when you activate it by faith. The momentum is there when it's ignited by vision. Momentum is supported by systems.
One of the spiritual gifts, and I don't have it myself, but one of the spiritual gifts is administration. You have to have systems. You have to have organization. You have to have strategy. You have to have somebody who's going to keep you on track.
And that's a gift for... Momentum seeking people. And then finally, momentum is sustained by grit. Grit also is a whatever it takes decision. We're not going to be stopped.
We're not going to be waylaid. We're not going to be pushed off to the side of the road. Momentum is ignited by vision. It's activated by faith. It's supported by systems.
And it's sustained by grit. And we need momentum as we move ahead as a church. Craig Groeschel put it this way. You can make excuses or you can make progress, but you can't make both. And Craig Groeschel on his recent podcast talked about the three lines that you have to cross to get to the future.
So as you have momentum, you're going to end up crossing three lines. And here they are. Line one is, I believe enough to benefit from the mission. This is about me. I'm getting something out of it.
Even though it's not about you, you still are into it because you get something out of it. I believe enough to benefit from the mission. Line two is, I believe enough to contribute comfortably to the mission. Remember I said you can have courage or you can have comfort, but you can't have both. Well, line two, you have to cross that line.
I believe enough to contribute comfortably to the mission, but nothing happens in terms of whatever it takes. Nothing happens in terms of momentum until you cross line three. I believe enough to give my life to the mission. This is where momentum is built. I believe enough to give my life to the mission.
Vision is ignited by vision. Momentum is ignited by vision. Momentum is activated by faith. Momentum is supported by systems. Momentum is sustained by grit.
I believe enough to give my life to the mission. This is where momentum blasts off. Another way to look at this is there's a continuum, let's say, and there's a line, and just to the right of that line, there's a cross, and that cross represents the finished work of Christ that he did for you and for me. To the left of that line with the cross, there are seekers. There are people who are trying to figure out what's my life about?
Why am I empty inside, and where am I going with my life? Then they make a decision to accept Christ. Christ comes into their life, and they start to be grounded. Then they become what's called a new believer. They don't know everything.
They hardly know anything. They don't know how to get from Genesis to Revelation, but they know how to carry a Bible. They know how to read a Bible, and they start to learn, and they start to grow. When I first did that in my own life, somebody said, start reading the Gospel of John. And so I started to read the Gospel of John and learn about this person, Jesus.
I was a new believer. And then the next level as you go to the right is the friend of God or friends of God. You get to be a friend of God and you feel like God's my friend and I'm God's friend. But guess what? Friends of God are only like halfway there.
You're a friend of God because you see the good things that God does for you. You see the benefits that you get from the connection that you have with God. But it's not about you. It's not about benefits. So you have to keep moving to the right.
And then you start to be a growing follower. You start to be somebody who starts to understand maturity. You start to be somebody who understands what it means to keep going when the going gets tough. It's that whole grit factor again. A growing follower keeps going to the place of maturity.
And then finally, churches that prevail, churches that prevail become whatever it takes people. They become filled with whatever it takes people. You can't stop whatever it takes people. They keep going in the face of great obstacles. They keep going when there are all kinds of question marks on the map.
They trust. They hope. They have faith. They have life. They bring faith and life together every single day.
So let me tell you what about Paul's whatever it takes attitude that he talked about in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 19 to 23. 1 Corinthians 9 verses 19 to 23. This is Paul's whatever it takes attitude. Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win the Jews.
To those under the law, I became like one under the law, though I myself am not under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law, though I am not free from God's law, but am under Christ's law. So as to win those not having the law. To the weak, I became weak. To win the weak.
And then listen to this, to this crescendo here, to the rise in his heartbeat when he says it says it this way. I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means, I might save some. And then you have to ask the question, why? Why was Paul willing to do whatever it takes through all these opportunities for relationships with all different kinds of people, not forcing them to be like he was, but listening to them, and becoming like they are, becoming what their cultural dictates are about, and speaking into their culture. Paul said this in verse 23, I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.
He knows who he is. He knows where he's going. He knows that Jesus is the hope of the world. He knows that the local church is the hope of the world when it's all working correctly, when there's momentum, when there's grit, when there's whatever it takes. When everybody knows it's not about me.
It's not about you. So here's what's coming in the future of Salt Church. First, it's not about you. So if you start to feel uncomfortable and things are a little bit out of your zone, it's not about you. Second, we've got to be line three people.
We have to cross line three and make sure that we're willing to do whatever it takes all the time to be everything that God wants us to be. And then we have to be whatever it takes people all the time. And when we are whatever it takes people all the time, God will do something amazing in our lives. God will do something amazing in the life of Salt Church. You know, when Paul talked about all the adjustments he was making, that wasn't easy necessarily for Paul.
But he was saying, I am willing to make adjustments. I'm willing to not just use the language that I know how to use. I'm willing to to listen. I'm willing to use words that I would not usually use. I'm not going to put people in a box.
I'm not going to force people to live inside of my box. And that's what it means to be whatever it takes people. That's what it means to be able to say with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Now give me this hill. Let's be that kind of a church.
Let's be people who say whatever it takes. Let's do whatever God allows us to do as a church that we might win to Jesus Christ. People who right now are far from Him. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. Dear Heavenly Father, guide us as we hear these words of Paul.
Guide us as we hear the heartbeat of Caleb. May we be people who say, now give us this hill. It will be people who say, to the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I've become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some. Father, allow us to make the adjustments and allow us to cross line three and allow us, Father, to live whatever takes lives for your honor and glory.
In Jesus name. Amen.
