Open your Bibles, if you will,
to Numbers chapter 14. The book of Numbers chapter 14. The title of my message is Follow
the Lord Fully. I have only one thing I want
you to get tonight. One thought I pray that God the
Spirit will set in your heart and mine. One thing I hope you'll
take with you when you leave here. Here it is. It is a blessed
thing. It is a blessed thing. To follow
the Lord fully. I'm calling for consecration
to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. consecration to his church, his
kingdom, his gospel, his cause in this world. The Lord declared
to Moses that he would destroy all of Israel in the wilderness
because of their unbelief, except for two men, Joshua and Caleb. And he spent 40 years destroying
them. so that none who left Egypt crossed
over the Red Sea on the night God brought Israel out of Egypt.
None above 20 years old entered into the land of Canaan except
Joshua and Caleb. At the end of 40 years, they
alone entered into the land of promise. Everyone else died in
the wilderness because of unbelief. Let me show you three, four things
with regard to this thing of following the Lord fully. First,
let's begin with this man Caleb here in Numbers 24, or Numbers
14 rather, verse 24. When God told Moses how he would
deal with a nation of evildoers, this one man stood up above all
the others as an example of faith commitment and consecration to
God. This is what God says about this
man Caleb. But my servant Caleb, because
he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him
will I bring into the land whereunto he went, and his seed shall possess
it. We're told six times in the record
that Moses gave that Caleb followed the Lord wholly. That is, as
it's stated here, he followed the Lord fully. The name Caleb,
I'm told, means two things. First, it means dog. That's not usually a term that
you would like to have cast your way. But his daddy named him
Caleb. It means dog. Usually, the word
dog implies something far less than that which is desirable.
Dog is used in scriptures to refer to false prophets. Dog
is used in scripture to refer to male prostitutes. But in this
case, the word is used in another way. It's used admirably. This man, Caleb, is one who followed
the Lord. like a dog follows his master. Now, I've not had a lot of pets
in my life other than dogs. We've had a few cats since we
lived out here on this hill, and cats are not good followers. Cats, generally, if they do stay
with you, get in your way. They'll trip you. You'll fall
and break your neck trying to keep from stepping on them. Dogs,
they'll follow their master anywhere. Even if you don't feed them,
they'll stay right at your heels. They'll just stay with you. That's
the picture we have of Caleb. He was a faithful dog. He followed
his master from the day God called him while he was yet in Egypt. And from the time that he left
Egypt, he followed him until the day God took him to glory. All those years, like a faithful
dog, Caleb followed the Lord. The name Caleb also means all
heart. Here is a faithful dog who is
all heart. What a man. It perfectly suits
this man, Caleb. There was nothing half-hearted
about it. We don't read a great deal about
Caleb, but what we do read, we read of a man who's all heart. There was nothing about him that
was lukewarm, insincere, or half-hearted. I've known a good many in my
time who had a head to understand, but no heart. I've known a good
many who had a hand to work, but no heart, who had feet to
go, but no heart, not Caleb. His head was clear. His hands
were strong. His feet were firm and yet this
man was all hearts. He did everything he did in word
or in deed with all his heart. With all his heart. Caleb means
a dog and Caleb means all heart. Put the two together and you
have the character of this man. What made Caleb the man he was? What was it that distinguished
him above others? There were millions in Israel. Millions in Israel. But Caleb
was different. God said, Caleb, he's not like
all the others. He's not like all the others.
Caleb was peculiar. What made him different? What
caused Caleb to be such a faithful, wholehearted man? Look at our
text. The Lord tells us plainly, he
had another spirit. He was a man with another spirit. Wasn't like all the other men
in Israel. Caleb had another spirit that distinguished him
from the millions around him. He was in fact one in whom God
had put his spirit. He had been made a new creature
in Christ as God in his covenant says he will do for all his elect
turn to Ezekiel 36 for a minute Ezekiel 36 This is one of those Promises God
makes in his covenant where God reveals his work of grace and
his people in the Old Testament in language that might be a little
confusing to some Ezekiel 36 24 This is what God promises
to every chosen redeemed sinner. I will take you from among the
heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring
you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you and you should be clean. It's talking about the washing
of the water by the word in the new birth. From all your filthiness
and from all your idols. God says I will cleanse you verse
26 a New heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put
within you? Now what's this and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an
heart of flesh What on earth can that mean? I'll take out
of you that cold, hard, dead, calculating heart with which
men are born. That cold, stony heart of flesh. And I'll give you a heart of
flesh. That is, I'll give you a living
heart, a heart passionate. a heart capable of feeling, a
heart capable of burning, a heart capable of devotion. And I will
put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes
and you shall keep my judgments to do them. I'll write my law
in your heart. I will cause you to believe on
my son. I'll cause you to walk before
me with obedience. And you shall dwell in the land
that I will give to your fathers and you shall be my people and
I will be your God. I will also save you from all
your uncleanness and I will call for the corn and will increase
it and lay no famine upon you. He's not talking about just physical
corn. That's far from it. He's talking
about spiritual things now in a spiritual land. He's talking
about God's salvation. I'll see to it that your soul
is fed. I'll see to it that your soul
is never famished. Read on. And I will multiply
the fruit of the tree. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance. I'll multiply
the fruit of the tree. and the increase of the field,
that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the
heathen." Turn to Zechariah chapter 12. This is where we must begin. If you and I would follow the
Lord fully, if we would be truly consecrated to God, we must be
given a new heart, a new spirit, a new nature. There are things said in religious circles
that are totally contrary to scripture, but people talk about
conversion and salvation and faith in Christ in words like,
well, he decided to start serving the Lord. I began to serve the
Lord and God's people do serve him, but there's something that
comes first. You must be given a new spirit,
a new heart, a new nature. You can't serve God the way you
come into this world. You can be a missionary and spend
all of your life in New Guinea. You can be a preacher and be
recognized worldwide as a very influential preacher. You can
be a theologian and teach at the most noble seminaries, but
you can't serve God until you're given a new heart, a new spirit,
a new nature. And that new heart, that new
spirit, that new nature is found only at the foot of the cross
of the crucified son of God. Look here in Zechariah chapter
12 verse 10. God says, I will pour upon the
house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. That is, I'll pour
upon my chosen people, my elect, the Israel of God, every one
of them, the spirit of grace. It doesn't begin with something
you do. It begins with something God
does. I'll pour upon you the spirit of grace and of supplications. And when God pours on you the
spirit of grace and supplications, causes you to supplicate the
throne of grace, causes you to seek his grace, he says they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall be
in mourning for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be
in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn. So I say to you, to every one
of you, To every one of you, hear me now. I'm talking to everybody
here. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. Fall before the crucified son
of God as a guilty sinner. Confess your sin. Sue for mercy
at the throne of grace. Lay hold upon the son of God
like Jacob of old. Don't let him go until he's given
you his spirit as he promised he would. This is what our Lord
said. John chapter 7, just listen,
you're familiar with it. In the last day, the great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, they'd been up
to Jerusalem at the annual feast and they'd gone up to worship
God. They'd gone up to go through
their religious services like we meet in this place, folks
from all over the world come here every September to worship
God in our conferences and they come in and they went through
the services. They were there for a week. And
they went home as empty as they came. And the Lord Jesus says
as they're leaving. If any man thirst. If any man
thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living waters. And this he spoke of his spirit
that he'll give. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1.
Ephesians 1. Paul is speaking here of the
blessings of God's grace given to chosen sinners in Christ.
And he tells us these blessings are given to us because God first
trusted his son as our surety in whom you also trusted. Look
at it, verse 13. In whom you also trusted. After
that you heard the word of truth. Faith comes by hearing, hearing
by the word of God. The gospel of your salvation.
The word of truth is the gospel. And you who believe heard God
speak to you the word of truth. Speaking of your salvation in
Christ Jesus. in whom also after that you believed
you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now this is
not talking about a second work of grace. This is talking about
what happens when a man believes. You believe on Christ and God
by faith in Christ seals to your heart all the blessings of the
Spirit. Just as in circumcision, ceremonially
by circumcision in the flesh, all the blessings God promised
to Abraham were sealed to Abraham's sons. So by this circumcision
of the heart made without hands, as soon as the center believes,
God giving faith gives us assurance that we're God's children and
all these blessings are ours, which is the earnest of the inheritance.
That is the pledge, the down payment, the foretaste until
the redemption of the purchase possession until the resurrection
of these bodies under the praise of his glory. Now I know. I'm fully aware of the fact that
you can't believe unless you have the Spirit of God. I know
that a person cannot believe except he's born of God. I know
that he that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. Life precedes faith. Faith is the gift of life. I
understand that. I understand that. And I know
this too. You can't have the Spirit of
God unless you believe God. You see, you are responsible
to believe on the Son of God. I am responsible to believe on
the Son of God. I was just talking to Brother
Frank back in the office. He'd been asked to conduct funerals
for some believers when they die, and he was asking about
how you do this. You understand this going ahead
when you go to the funeral home, or you have folks gathered in
the chapel and you start to preach. Nobody pays any attention to
the preacher. Nobody. They try their best not to hear
you. They're focused on other things. I've had this happen. You know, get folks all worked
up and they have open casket funerals, so you're trying to
preach to folks while they're looking at that dead body and
everybody bawling like babies. And I just tell the funeral director,
close the casket. I'll ask the family. I said,
it doesn't matter what the family says, it ain't starting until the casket's
closed. I'm going to do everything I can to folks hear what I say.
But you understand that they're not going to hear unless God
makes them hear. But they're responsible to hear.
And so you preach to folks just as earnestly as you can. And
understand that men cannot believe except God give them faith. But
you're responsible to believe. You're responsible to believe.
Folks who've heard the gospel and despised it will suffer greater
damnation eternally than folks who never heard the gospel. Believe
on the Lord Jesus and believing you receive his spirit. The spirit
of life and grace is given to those who believe on the son
of God. And if we would follow the Lord
fully, if we would consecrate ourselves to God our Savior,
we must be filled with his spirit, controlled by his spirit, ruled,
directed, governed by his spirit. Paul says, be not drunk with
wine wherein is excess. But be ye filled with the Spirit. Now in this day of charismatic
nonsense, and it is nonsense, this charismatic stuff is just...
Folks check their brains at the door when they go to church house.
They just... I can't imagine how folks can be deluded by the
things they're deluded by. This charismatic tomfoolery is
just nonsense. It's nothing but flesh and hell. Nothing but flesh and the devil. But in this day of charismatic
foolishness, folks talk about being filled with the Spirit
and they talk about people acting crazy, jumping up and down, falling
in the floor, passing out, all that stuff. No. To be filled
with the Spirit, Merle Hart, is to be controlled by God's
Spirit. A man who's drunk with wine,
his whole demeanor changes. His whole demeanor changes. Never
for the better. Never for the better. His whole
demeanor changes. He can't control himself. He's
controlled by the influence of the alcohol that governs his
mind. So those who are filled with
the spirit of God do not control themselves. They're controlled
by God's spirit. by the influence of God's Spirit,
by the word of the Spirit, by the grace of the Spirit. Turn
to Romans chapter 8. Look at this. To be born of God
is to live in the Spirit. It is to live in the Spirit.
It is to walk in the Spirit. To live by faith in Christ is
to walk in the Spirit. It is to live in the Spirit. Romans chapter 8, verse 1. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. That means,
Mark Hinton, if you're in Christ, your life is no longer governed
by fleshly dictates, but by the Spirit of God. You walk after
the Spirit. Read on. for the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus. This spirit of life is a law
that rules us, has made me free from the law of sin and death.
This law of the spirit of life in Christ, God giving us life
in Christ, we're free from that law that condemns and constantly
curses. Read on, verse three. For what
the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh
God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin condemned sin in the flesh That the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us But be fulfilled in us
who trust the son. That's what this is beings here
the very next line Who walk not after the flesh but after the
spirit? That does not mean that we who live by the Spirit of
God now love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and being
and our neighbor as ourselves. It does not mean that we perfectly
keep a Sabbath day or that we live by the Ten Commandments.
That's not what it means. It means that we, believing on the
Son of God, are men and women for whom Christ lived and died
and fulfilled the law. And we now walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. Verse 5, For they that are after
the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. Those folks who
haven't been born again can't be controlled by anything but
flesh. They're motivated by flesh. They're
inspired by flesh. They're controlled by flesh.
They think in fleshly terms. They desire fleshly things. That's
all they can do. That's all they can do. They
can't walk out of their element. But they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit, those who are born of God, those who
are born of God, they bind the things of the Spirit. They're
controlled by the Spirit of God. Their hearts are set on the things
of the Spirit. But you don't. Verse six, for to be carnally
minded is death. To be carnally minded is death.
To live after the flesh is death. But to be spiritually minded,
that's life in peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God. Neither indeed can be. Verse
eight, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Cannot please God You can't please
God by praying. You can't please God by fasting.
You can't please God by reading your Bible You can't please God
by doing good. You can't please God by tithing.
You can't please God by entering the ministry You can't please
God by anything They that are in the flesh Cannot serve God
can't be done now watch verse 9 watch verse 9 But ye are not
in the flesh. I read that portion of scripture
for 20 years and didn't have a clue what it meant. I just,
I read it and I read commentaries on it. And you know what? The
commentary didn't have a clue what it meant. And I just, I
had to read over it. And one day brother Scott Richardson
preaching from this right here in this pulpit. And he said,
ye are not in the flesh. And suddenly I read what God
said. You're not in the flesh. If you
believe in the son of God, you're not in the flesh. But we live
in these bodies of flesh. Yeah, but you're not in the flesh.
We live in this carnal body, in this world of flesh and blood,
yes, but you are not in the flesh! God's put you in another realm
of existence! You're in the Spirit. In the
Spirit. So that we draw our life from
the Spirit, in the Spirit, continually. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now, if any man had not the Spirit
of Christ, He's none of his. He's none of his. Caleb was a
man different from other men because Caleb had another spirit
with him. The spirit of God made him a
new spirit. This man, Caleb, walked before
God with a believing spirit. He believed God. He did something
that it's impossible for a man to do. He took God at his word. If God said it, Caleb believed
it. If God spoke it, Caleb believed it. This man Caleb walked before
God with a meek, humble spirit. That means Caleb recognized who
he was and whose he was. before God Almighty. He knew
he belonged to God, a meek and humble spirit. There are two
men who stand out prominently in Israel's history in those
40 years of wandering other than Moses, Joshua and Caleb. Now go back and read the first
five books of Moses and get over to the book of Joshua and tell
me what you know about Caleb. Tell me what you read about Caleb. All we read about Caleb, really,
is that he followed the Lord fully until we get to Joshua
chapter 14. This man, Caleb, went into Canaan
to spy out the land with those spies, those 12 spies God sent
in. And they came back, and Joshua
and Caleb said, we can take the land. Everybody else said, no,
we can't do it. Joshua and Caleb stood by God.
We can take the land. And Joshua stands out as that
one chosen of God, anointed of God to succeed Moses. And Caleb
was right there beside him. And when Moses died, Joshua is
promoted and he becomes the head of all the tribes of Israel.
Caleb served Joshua just like he served Moses and never a murmuring
word. He was a man who walked before
God knowing I belong to God. I'm God's. He can do with me
what he will, or do nothing with me if he will. I'm God's. I'm
God's. But this man Caleb, oh, what
a spirit he had. He was brave, courageous, backbone,
oh my. You see, real meekness, makes
men courageous for God. Real meekness makes a fellow
like Moses. Moses was the meekest man walking
in the earth in his day. Moses? Some of you don't get
the picture of Moses being meek, do you? Because we think that
meekness means you don't have any backbone. We think that meekness
means you don't stand for anything. We think that meekness means
you just kind of go with the flow, don't cause any trouble.
Moses walked into Pharaoh, the mightiest man on earth, Ron,
and he said, God said, let my people go. And just in case you
didn't hear what I said, if you don't, God's going to kill you. Moses, meek. Courageous. Caleb, meek, courageous,
so that this man, Caleb, walked before God with another spirit,
a spirit that caused him in humility and confidence to give himself
entirely to the cause of Israel, which was the cause of God. Caleb
loved Israel. Caleb loved the Redeemer Caleb
loved God and his people and he was zealous committed consecrated
to God this man Caleb Walked on this earth with his mind constantly
fixed on one thing. I mean for for 45 years He had one thing in his mind,
that piece of ground in the land of Canaan that Moses said by
God's inspiration, that's yours. That's all we had on his mind.
That's all we had on his mind. God, give me such a spirit so
that this fixes my heart upon heaven. Turn to that passage
I've quoted so many times last few weeks in Colossians three. If you then be risen with Christ
Now read the word if I'll read it since either way is perfectly.
All right If you're risen with Christ God do this Since you're
risen with Christ. This is what you must do If you
then be risen with Christ Seek those things which are above
Where Christ said it's on the right hand of God Let the Gentiles
have all this But that's all they've got. Let them have it.
Let them have it. Seek things which are above.
Set your affection on things above. Not your affections, your
affection. That means, Lindsay, set your
whole heart on eternity. Set your whole heart on Christ. Set your heart on heaven and
everybody who has any place in your affections will profit by
it. Set your heart on heaven and you will serve best your
family best your friends best your neighbors best your generation
Set your heart upon heaven Not on things on the earth For you're
dead And your life is hid with christ in god Because caleb had
another spirit. God says He has followed me Fully
now, let's look at that for a minute What does it mean to follow the
Lord fully? Caleb wasn't a prophet. He wasn't
a preacher. He was a man who believed God,
no more, no less. That makes him a man like Don
Renier, Mark Water. He believed God. He believed
God. This man who believed God followed
the Lord fully. I'm afraid few do so today. At best, most of us are like
Peter in the judgment hall, following the Lord afar off. At worst,
I fear some may be like King Saul, following the Lord conveniently. I pray that God will make us
like Caleb, following the Lord fully. That means that he followed
the Lord universally. Caleb followed the Lord in all
things. His obedience to Christ was universal
obedience. Whatever his master told him
to do, he did. He didn't pick and choose. how
he would serve God. He didn't pick and choose what
he would do. He didn't say, oh, I like this
and I'll do that, but I don't like that. I'm not going to do
that. He did what God had him to do. Not for his sake, but
for Israel's sake and God's sake. He followed the Lord fully, universally,
so that he was willing never to violate the will of God at
any point. He would not violate the will
of God. He was purposed in his heart
not to violate the will of God. In doctrine, whatever that doctrine
was that Moses said fell like dew from heaven, the doctrine
of God, His grace, His mercy, He wouldn't violate it for anything.
He would not worship a false god or a false altar. In the
worship of God, he followed the Lord fully, adhering to what
God taught. In duty, he followed the Lord
fully. We don't read a great deal about
Caleb, but we don't read anything of weakness about him. We don't read anything of failure
about him. We don't read anything of inconsistency
about him. Caleb was consecrated to God,
his heart, his mind, his family, his money, his life, everything. He was like Joshua. Joshua said,
you can't serve the Lord. He said, you'll serve these gods
or those gods, you can't serve the Lord. But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord. As for me and my house, this
is where God's worshiped. Spurgeon made this comment. He
said a spirit of partial obedience is a spirit of radical disobedience. And we have an example given
to us in First Kings 13. You can look at it later. There
was a prophet of God, a saint of God, to destroy the altar
Jeroboam had built. And Jeroboam the king heard about
it. He came and laid hands on that prophet. And God caused
that king's hand to wither. And Jeroboam scared to death.
He said, he said, and treat the Lord for me that he may restore
my hand. And the prophet did. But God told the prophet plainly,
don't stay in that city. Don't eat anything in that city. Don't take anything from that
city. You go there, deliver my word,
do what I said and leave. And the prophet did exactly what
God told him until they started home. And there was another old
prophet who heard about it. And that old prophet went to
meet him in the way and said, I'm a prophet too. Come to my
house. The Lord's told me to come take
you home with me. You come to my house and abide
with me there. And the prophet did. And he started
home the next day and lions destroyed him because partial obedience. is radical disobedience. That man who had courageously
stood against the king withered because he was given to sentiment
and the old prophet lied to him. Caleb followed the Lord universally
and he followed him sincerely. That is without duplicity. Without hypocrisy, without pretense,
he served God. This man wasn't a dress soldier.
He was not one who gave lip service. He's one who followed God with
his heart and he proved it. One of the surest test of sincerity
is a person's willingness to suffer for the cause of Christ. You remember when the spies came
back from the land of Canaan, Caleb spoke, and he dared alone
with Joshua to speak for God. Everybody else was opposed to
him. Everybody else. All the other
spies said, no, they're wrong. No, they're wrong. We have a
unanimous voice here. We can't take the land. Caleb
said, we're able to take it. God gave it to us. And he stood
against them. And when they took up stones
to stone him, well, maybe I was mistaken. I could have been wrong. Let me let me go ask the Lord
about that. No, he stood by God's word. He followed the Lord sincerely
at all hazards. There were many in that day and
many in hours who follow Christ in the sunshine, who will not
follow him in the storm. Many follow him in the storm
of need who will not follow him in the sunshine of prosperity.
And Caleb followed him sincerely and universally. I'll tell you
something else about following him fully. He followed the Lord
cheerfully. He followed the Lord because
he wanted to. Those who serve God with a grumbling
heart don't serve God. Our God requires no slaves to
grace his throne. He's Lord of an empire of love
with willing servants. That obedience, which is not
cheerful obedience, is disobedience. You see, the Lord looketh on
a heart. God will not accept legal obedience,
forced obedience from anybody of any kind, anytime. He won't accept it. He will not
receive anything that does not arise from a willing heart. Listen
to this. Paul's talking particularly about
giving. He says, if there be first a willing mind, It is accepted
according to that a man hath, and not according to that he
hath not. We receive your offerings, you give. I say very little about
it. I say very little about it for
good reason. I wouldn't put you under any
constraint to give a dime for any cause. I wouldn't think about it. You
prefer to keep it, keep it. You prefer to buy stuff with
it, buy stuff with it. You prefer to go to the movies
with it, go to the movies with it. But if you want to, you can
give it to missionaries or give it to a needy family or give
it to a preacher. You can do whatever you want to, if you
want to. If you want to, you can give it to the cause of Christ,
wherever you want to, wherever you want to. God accepts what's
given with a willing heart. He won't accept a tithe. He won't
accept it. Well, I got to pay my tithe.
Boy, I can't afford to do this. We've got to pay it. No, God
won't accept that. He won't have it. He won't have
it. He accepts what's given with a willing heart. Paul says again,
every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give
not grudgingly, nor necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver."
Now, let me give you something else about following the Lord
fully. I want to camp here a little bit. Caleb followed the Lord
perseveringly. Followed the Lord to the end
of his days. Claus and Ruth are going to be
leaving us tomorrow, going to be gone for a couple of months.
But let me tell you something, my older brother. You're not
done yet. But what can an old man do? Whatever
God puts in your hand to do. Whatever God gives you opportunity
to do. Whatever you can do. Well, I got to leave that to
the younger folks. You don't dare leave to the younger
folks what you can do. You don't dare leave to the more
able bodied what you can do. Oh, no. Caleb followed the Lord
to the end of his days. He was 40 years old when he went
in to spy out the land of Canaan. I'm going to guess, putting things
together the best I can, he was about 35 years old when God first
crossed his path and revealed himself to him by the word of
Moses. Moses told him of God's deliverance. God sent me to deliver
Israel. And I don't have any doubt at
all. He told him what it all typified. He understood this
stuff about redemption and grace and salvation to come through
that one who's the woman saved that God promised him sin through
Abraham. He's going to raise him up out of our people. God's
going to deliver his people. And Caleb saw redemption. He saw the Passover lamb and
his blood sprinkled on the door. And he experienced God's grace. He went out with Israel across
the Red Sea by the mighty power of God. Caleb believed God. And then when he was 40 years
old, Moses sent him to spy out the land and he brought back
a true report, a word of faith. He said, we're well able to overcome
it. For 45 years, he stood by waiting for God to fulfill his
word. For 45 years. He lived for 45 years in a nation
of men and women who professing the name of God did not believe
God. For 45 years. For 45 years. He put up with a whole nation
who professed the name of God and followed their own lust for
45 years. But they bore the name of God,
and he patiently served God, walking with that nation. For
45 years, he lived among those people, those people who didn't
follow the Lord. But all that time, Caleb followed
the Lord. He stayed with Moses all the
time. People murmured, not Caleb. People
grumbled, not Caleb. People fussed, not Caleb. People
said, you brought us out here to kill us, not Caleb. People
said, we want some leeks from Egypt, not Caleb, not Caleb.
He stood firm for 45 years. And when Moses died, He followed
Joshua just as he had followed Moses. Never once did he consort
with the murmuring crowd. Never once did he join with the
rebels. Faithfulness to God, you see,
means faithfulness to his servant and faithfulness to his people.
Write that down. It's worth remembering. Faithfulness
to God means faithfulness to his servant. and faithfulness
to his people. Let me give you an illustration
of what I'm saying. I have two friends, both of them
used to live in Ashland, Kentucky, Brother Charlie Payne, Brother
Dick Pennington. One of them now lives in glory. Brother Charlie
Payne died several years ago. Charlie was an elder at 13th
Street Church for years under Brother Mahan. And a very dear
friend, he was manager of the Norandex store over in Cerrito,
West Virginia. Charlie's one who bought the
siding down here. He got it for us from the store at his cost,
and we brought it down here. And I don't know, I suspect he
probably paid for it. But anyway, he brought it down
here, and the siding on the building here came from Charlie. He managed
that business for years. And Brother Dick Pennington,
who was an older man when God saved him, he owned Penco Windows
and Doors in Ashland. Pretty good-sized company. And
Charlie had somebody come in one day wanting to make a purchase,
some sizable stuff for construction. And he started to talk bad about
Dick and those fellow down at PNCO windows. And Charlie said,
you probably ought to know something. The fellow said, what's that?
He said, actually, that fellow down there that runs the PNCO
shop said he's my brother. He said, our father owns both
these companies. I just manage this one, he manages that one.
So no need to talk to me bad about my brother. and send him
packing. Well, you wouldn't do that, would
you? Man, that cost a lot of money. Cost a whole lot more
not to. Cost a whole lot more not to.
You see, faithfulness to God means faithfulness to his servant,
faithfulness to his people. When his time came to claim his
inheritance, at the age of 85, this grand old man, Caleb, was
still following the Lord fully. He still had the strength of
his youth, the faith of his youth, and the zeal of his youth. How
many there are who fail in this respect? Most people follow the
Lord in spurts, in spasms. They leap into the church like
fish leap into the air and they fall back into the water like
fish fall back in the world like fish fall back in the water.
The one thing that's required of stewards is that a man be
found faithful. The one thing lacking in shooting
stars is faithfulness. The only thing you can depend
on with most folks is you can't depend on them. Isn't that sad? Isn't that sad? Not faithful men. Not faithful
women. You depend on them. There are many like Lot's wife.
Oh, she had some experience. You talk about a religious experience.
That gal had a religious experience. An angel from heaven came down
and stayed at her house. An angel from heaven took her
by the hand and brought her out of Sodom. And when she left Sodom,
She left everything in Sodom, including her heart, and she
looked back. Because she was not following
the Lord, she simply pretended to. Many are like those in John
6. They follow the Lord enthusiastically
for a while, for whatever reason, because of his miracles, and
then something happens and they're offended, either by his doctrine
or some duty of faith or some petty something or other, that
they can conjure up a reason for not following him. Many,
like the Galatians, they would have plucked out their eyes and
given them to Paul. And then somebody came in and
started flattering them, and they became enemies to Paul and
looked at Paul as their enemy. Many in time of affliction begin
to follow Christ, but don't follow the Lord fully. None of you ever have, and I'll
say to everybody who gets this message by whatever means they
do, don't ever do this. Don't call me to go try to get
a profession of faith out of somebody because they're in a
bad automobile accident or their family breaking up or stuff. Call a lawyer. I'm not an ambulance
chaser. That's not what I do. No, no, no. We don't try to manipulate
things and manipulate folks in the kingdom of God. That which
is born in the storm will die in the calm. You can be sure
of it. God's people follow him. because they want to. They're
devoted to him. And they follow him in the dark
and in the light, in the good times and in the bad. I want
by the grace of God to be like Jephthah, who said when he saw his daughter
coming out of the door, I've lifted my hand to God, and I can't go back. I can't
go back. This is what God says, the righteous
shall hold on his way. He that hath clean hands shall
wax stronger and stronger. The path of the just is as a
shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. He that endureth to the end shall
be saved. I've got to wrap this up. Let
me try to give you some encouragement. You may think, well, Brother
Don, that That all sounds good, but is it practical? Is it reasonable? Look at Caleb and learn what
God meant when he said, then that honor me, I will honor. I'm telling you, if you believe
God, if I believe God, if you follow God, if I follow God,
you'll suffer no loss. Not going to happen. Not going
to happen. Look how God honored Caleb. When
he destroyed his family and friends, Caleb was preserved. He didn't
perish in the wilderness. He entered into the land of rest.
This man, Caleb, was blessed with a long life of vigor and
useful when he was 85 years old. He was exalted to a place of
honor among his brethren. I don't know. I can just picture
old Caleb. He's walking around with one leg cut off now on a
walker. And some little fellow in Israel,
he says, Daddy, why does everybody honor that old man so much? Why
does everybody make a way for that old man? Why does everybody
give way to him? What's so special about him?
Son, that's Caleb. If it hadn't been for Caleb,
we wouldn't be here. If it hadn't been for Caleb,
we wouldn't be in this place. If it hadn't been for Caleb,
we would never have crossed Jordan. If it hadn't been for Caleb,
we wouldn't have inherited this land. Caleb followed the Lord
fully. Caleb had the distinguishing honor
of being given the hardest service. Isn't that amazing? The strongest mountain,
the strongest city, Caleb took it. Caleb said, Joshua, it's
what I want. I'm just as strong as I was when
I was 45, 40 years old. I'm 85 now. I said, then we can
take this land, we can still take it. You give it to me and
I'll show you. And Joshua said, take it. And
he took Hebron. Eighty-five years old. Bill,
God gave Caleb the honor of doing what nobody else could do. An old man. who could do anything
except God be with him. Caleb had the privilege of enjoying
what he desired. He possessed the land God promised
him. You will never win Hebron for
yourself or for God's church if you're always talking about
giants and difficulties and problems. And they've got chariots with
iron wheels. They've got horses. You never
saw such strong, fast horses. They've got soldiers. Those fellows
are all seven feet tall and not an ounce of fat at all. We can't take that. Caleb didn't
see any of it. What's a seven foot tall man?
I worship God. What are hundreds of chariots
of iron? I follow God. Caleb followed the Lord. He honored God and God honored
him. You see, there are no difficulties
to the man who believes God. That man is utterly independent. Utterly independent. You folks ever drive on really,
really, really dense foggy nights. Where we lived in West Virginia,
I'd leave home. We lived about 3,600 foot elevation. And I'd leave home headed south,
going back to Winston-Salem or to Florida where Shelby was raised.
And we'd always have to go down by the Gauley River Valley. And about the time we got 15,
20 miles from home, Fog would be so thick, all you could tell
was that you did have lights out there somewhere. I mean,
you couldn't see anything. You couldn't see anything. And
I'd have to get over. It's too bad to go back, too
bad to go forward. And I'd get over on the berm
of the road. Didn't have any lines. And I'd
set my wheels on the gravel so I could hear and feel the gravel.
And I knew as long as I didn't feel, hear something slushy,
I was all right. And as I drive for miles and miles and miles
and just tense, uncomfortable, and going right down beside me,
there'd be a train. The fog didn't bother that engineer
a bit. He was totally independent of
the weather. Didn't bother me a bit. He's
on a rail. And he didn't have to feel for
the road. He's following that track. The track leads him on
his way. And he's utterly indifferent
to the weather around him. That's what it is to follow God. Indifferent to difficulty. Indifferent
to trial. Indifferent to heartache. indifferent
to pain, indifferent to foes, indifferent to darkness, indifferent
to rain, indifferent to storm. We follow the Lord and follow
him fully. God says him that honoreth me,
I will honor and God always does. Amen.