May I please the Lord to bless
us together this morning as we consider his word. Let us turn
to the Book of Numbers, chapter 14, and we'll read verses 23
and 24. The Book of Numbers, chapter
14, reading verses 23 and 24. Surely they shall not see the
land which I swear unto their fathers neither shall any of
them that provoked me see it but my servant Caleb because
he had another spirit with him and has followed me fully him
will I bring into the land wherein to he went and his seed shall
possess it The account that we've partially
read here this morning is really one of the saddest accounts in
the Word of God. And it is a sad account because
Israel did not believe the Word of the Lord. That is the fundamental
truth. They did not believe the word
of the Lord and it is quite astounding if we think of that because here
was Israel who had been wonderfully delivered out of that land of
Egypt where they had been for 400 odd years and the Lord had
brought them out and brought them safely across the Red Sea
and had been with them up to this time in the wilderness And
now the Lord had promised that they should possess the land
of Canaan. And they were told to go up and
to possess the land. And they were privileged to send
12 spies to have a good look at the land and to see what it
was like and to bring back the news. And they did that. And the sad, sad thing was, that
of those twelve who came back, only two really were prepared
to follow the word of the Lord. The others sadly looked at the
difficulties. My friends, there are difficulties
in a Christian life. Let us make no mistake about
it. The Christian life is not an
easy life. But the wonderful blessing is,
if God before us, who can be against us? And here we have
this promise of God, that he would be with them. But instead
of listening to the word of God, they listened to the evil report
of those ten spies. And therefore, they did not go
up. The previous chapter We have
the details of that. And we have the lovely words
that Caleb spoke. This gracious man of God. He didn't go along with the general
consensus. He believed what God the Lord
has spoken. And he tells us in the 30th verse
of the 30th chapter. And Caleb stilled the people
before Moses and said, let us go up at once. and possess it,
for we are well able to overcome it. We observe here the faith
given to God's servant, Caleb. He was of the tribe of Judah,
because there was one spy of each tribe and Caleb was the
spy elected to represent Judah. And we have this picture here
then. He didn't hesitate. He didn't hesitate and let us
go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome
it. But you see, the other spies
that were with him, they said, the men that went up with him
said, we'd be not able to go up against the people, for they
are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report
of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel,
saying, The land through which we have gone to search, it is
a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that
we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak, which came of the giants. And we were
in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And as we commenced our reading
in the 14th chapter, the effect was, sadly, oh tragically, Israel,
they wept, they cried because of the difficult situation. They weren't prepared to follow
the word of the Lord. Now it's a very solemn outcome. a very solemn outcome, because
when they had listened to the words of Moses and to the words
of Caleb, and the words of course that Moses was given to instruct
them by, from God, they then thought they would change their
mind. They'd spoken out. wrongly against
God. And they thought they would change
their mind and they would then go up and possess the land. But they reacted so sadly, so
ungraciously towards their God that the response was that here
they were then in a position and the Lord was not with them.
The Lord was not with them. The reality is, we tend to like
to work to our timetable and we tend to like to see everything
nice and easy and clear before us. Well, if we're honest and
we follow the history of God's people in the Word of God, the
picture is very different. The one thing is clear, God is
with his people. God never leaves them, nor forsakes
them. However difficult the situation
may appear. And perhaps there may be those
times when they are, as it were, not back. And that's going to
make the progress that they expected. We have the battles recorded
after Joshua and the people who possessed the land. And we find
there were battles where they didn't always succeed at the
first time. But they did in the end. They
did in the end. Sometimes they had to inquire
the Lord again. The Lord encouraged them. And it was to prove the
Lord was with them. So, today we live in an evil
world. And today we face opposition. And we continue to face the opposition
of our adversary, the devil. My friends, he's always there,
always trying to turn us away, to turn us back, to turn us against
God, to turn us against his ways. That's his great object. My friends,
he brings before us so many reasons. He gives us it worse, Many excuses, and what do we do? Left to ourselves,
we're just like Israel, we're just like they were, we'll just
follow what appears to be difficult, and we therefore rebel against
the Word of God. Now, that's a very, very solemn
position. Let us not think that God has
changed. Let us not think that after all
these years, God's got a bit easier and we can therefore rebel
against God without any consequences. The Lord has not changed. He
does not change. He will not change. And we stand
today before that same, great, eternal God. And as we ponder that, may we
realise our solemn position, equally as solemn as those Israelites
all those years ago. Now, bless God, we have the example
of Joshua and Caleb. In particular, Caleb's outspoken
example. Yes, he had a single eye for
the honour and glory of God. And because of that, God speaks
to Moses about Caleb. And they're beautiful words.
And it would be a great blessing if those words were spoken about
you and me. If we can think of God speaking
words like this, but my servant Caleb, because he had another
spirit. It was the spirit that God had
given him. The Holy Ghost had given him that right spirit. What a blessing. to know that
the Lord gives us a right spirit. And God speaks to Moses in this
way, because he was his servant, my servant, and all God's people
are his servants, because he had another spirit with him.
The Lord was with him. The Lord was helping him. The
Lord was standing by him. The Lord is making him bold.
Yes, it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy. Try and imagine
the vast multitude of Israelites speaking against the situation. Many people perhaps speaking
against you and me. We sometimes be our friends. We may speak against this. And they address us and say,
well, you're foolish. You should go this way. You shouldn't
obey the Lord. You shouldn't go in a way that
the Lord's clearly directed. The way that the Lord's spoken
to them over many years. He told them what was going to
occur. And they were in the position and God was with them. If we're in a position, and God
is with us, and God blesses us in this way, and He's granted
us His Spirit, then you see, what does He say?
And, not only have we been blessed with the Spirit, but it had an
effect. My friends, God's work in our
hearts the evidence of that spirit with us. I'm sure, even today,
although it's many years afterwards, will have a good and a gracious
effect upon us. And that effect was this. Here
we have it outlined in just a few words. And have followed me fully. It was really that phrase that
I was drawn to at the beginning of last week, and hath followed me fully. And so we look at ourselves today,
each one of us, all of us, young and old. We shouldn't think that
when I'm just a young boy or girl, or on the other hand, when
I'm too old now, we have this gracious word of
the Lord spoken of Caleb in this way,
and have followed me fully. It's a very comprehensive statement,
isn't it? It doesn't leave anything out,
does it? There aren't any gaps either. Really, there's no room for manoeuvre. It's the example of this man,
Caleb. Now, just think of this. Caleb had been blessed to observe
God's goodness. He'd been selected as one of
those spies. He was privileged to go up and
to see the land. He saw it was a good land. And if we think of that in our
own spiritual life today, it would be a great blessing if
the Lord has called us, as it were, to go up and inspect the
land. as it were, to have just a view
of the blessings which God has prepared for his people. A little
view of that inheritance. And as such then, that we may
be wholeheartedly willing and desirous, just like Caleb which
followed the Lord fully, and hath followed me fully." Now,
Caleb was not following man. Caleb was following the Lord.
And that's really the great statement, isn't it? How important it is
for us to consider The Lord has graciously set before us a wonderful
example, hasn't he, in his word. And he tells us very succinctly,
ye are my witnesses. Caleb was a witness for God. He declared very clearly whose
side he was on. declared very clearly his view. He said we are well able, well
able. He was given faith to believe
they were well able. And thankfully then we have this
same God today who is able to give us that strength, that spiritual
strength to go in that way that he has directed us in. Now the
Lord has and does direct his people and there's a very clear
pattern the Lord has ordained and that is the example of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We should never weary of considering
our Saviour. We should always recognise what
a gracious and glorious example we have. It's an example which is so high,
so great and so glorious. And what did the Lord Jesus do?
What did He do? He did the will of His Father. The will of his father. And that
was not easy. Just contemplate it. The will
of his father was that his loved son, his only begotten son, should submit himself to death, to the death of the
cross, in order that he might take upon himself the enormous
weight of the sin of his church, and to deliver them from a just
condemnation, because he bore the punishment instead, the just
for the unjust. Now, I believe, if you and I
led by the Spirit, the same Spirit that led Caliph, to realise that
we have such a wonderful Saviour who was so willing to do the
will of His Father in order that He might save our souls. Surely our privilege, our favour,
our blessing today is to do just what Caleb did, hath followed me fully. Well, it doesn't give any room,
does it, for manoeuvre. It just doesn't. The trouble
is today, we find our hearts manoeuvre. We find we try and justify ourselves
in our lives. Justify doing this, and justify
doing that. The whole thing is, my friends,
does it stand the scrutiny of God? It may stand the scrutiny
of men, because men may not understand the real picture. But God knows
everything. And we stand before God. My friends,
do our lives stand up to God's scrutiny? I'll answer the question before
God. That gracious God, remember,
who was so willing to die for sinners like we are. Unworthy sinners of the earth. We weren't cast away. Indeed,
we weren't passed by. As Mr Ransbottom said on a Friday
on both services and of course the leading article in the Gospel
Standard is really about Bartimaeus and the concern that he was not
passed by. Well, if we are truly moved by
the Holy Spirit of God, our concern will be that we also are not
passed by. Oh Lord, pass me not by. That is the true concern. And
I pray it may be the real cry from our very heart pass me not
by. If that is really true, if that
is really a concern, then our prayer should be that we might
have this spirit that clearly did and that he was able and
that we may be able to follow the Lord fully, follow me fully. Yes, what a wonderful thing it
is to be able to come in there and desire to follow the examples. And this example in particular,
in the word of God, of Caleb, that we might indeed follow the
Lord fully. That's who we're speaking about.
Following the Lord fully. Well, what's our reaction today?
Across our life, across our life, lay it out. Look at it, if you
like, section by section in your life. And are there any sections that
you're not following the Lord fully? Because if this word is
complied with, it's Complete, isn't it? It really
means that every element in our life takes its pattern. There's not a gap. We don't pat
ourselves on the back and say, well, I'm doing a good job there,
and I'm doing a good job there, and I'm doing a good job there.
Well, I believe this will be the reaction. You'll come, you'll bow down,
Realizing your failures, and you'll come and say, it is only by the grace of God
that you are what you are. It's not because of your strength.
It's not because of your ability. It's because of what God has
done for you. Because of the desire that God has given you.
Because of the help that God's given you. Because of the ability
that God's given you. Because of the strength that
God's given you. But, is it as it were, a searching
out? Turning up, perhaps, this corner
of your life and seeing whether that's a following fully, or
whether there are those gaps? Well, we have this wonderful
case with this man, Caleb, following the Lord fully. What a blessing
it is that the Lord has graciously recorded such a word as this
for our encouragement. And it is, of course, our encouragement. We should thank God that it is
there, so that we can better for it. later on in this same
book, Numbers. We read about the situation again,
slightly differently, and Moses is speaking and he's telling
them, he said, thus did your fathers, when I sent them from
Kadesh Barnea to see the land, for when they went up unto the
valley of Eshkol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart
of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land
which the Lord had given them. And the Lord's anger was kindled
at the same time, and he swore saying, Surely none of the men
that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward shall
see the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob, because they have not Holy followed me. Striking word, isn't it? The
word of God. To your soul and my soul today.
Because they have not wholly followed me. Saith Pilate, the son of Jephunneh,
the Kenizite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly
followed the Lord. The word is reiterated, is compounded
really to instruct us in the truth of such words and to be
concerned today that we do not follow a wrong pattern. Him hath followed me fully, and
there was a promise. Him will I bring into the land
wherein unto he went, and his seed shall possess it." Now, we're traveling through
this world. What do we think about our journey. Do we look to the end of the
journey? All of us are in a journey. We've all got to come to the
end of the journey. Nobody lives forever. Nobody ever lives forever,
even in those Old Testament times, generally before the flood, when
they lived for hundreds of years. we still read, and he died, and
she died. And so it will be said of you
and me, and he died, and she died. And you and me will be laid in
the grave. And what will be said about us? Well, the testimony here was
that Caleb followed the Lord fully, and therefore the Lord
has said, and he will bring him into the land until he went. Well, would it be said of us
that the Lord has brought us safely home to glory? Would it be said of us that we follow the Lord fully, the blessed Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ? Or would it not be true? Would it be said, well, this
person did not follow the Lord fully, He followed the Lord so
far, perhaps. He didn't follow the Lord fully. It's a very solemn consideration,
isn't it? It won't matter, will it, how
successful we are in this poor old world. It won't matter, really, how
well we've done. It won't really matter Whether
we've been very successful, it will matter where our soul
is. It will matter whether we have followed the
Lord fully or not. So as we think of these words
here this morning, to realise the blessed promise which was
spoken of Caleb, and will bring him into the land where into
he went. To think the Lord bringing us
safely home to glory. Yes, leading us on safely, day
by day. Enabling us to press on, not
in our strength, but in the strength the Lord gives us. The Lord will give grace and
glory. Grace and glory. Let us not limit
our God. Let us not think, in the day
and age we live in, that we won't receive that grace, that unmerited
favour to help us and strengthen us. What a blessing it is to
have the answer of a good conscience. It's a very different picture
to have a conscience which is seared. The Word of God tells
us about that. It speaks of a seared conscience.
A seared conscience is really something that's been burnt as
it were. The surface has been removed,
so there's no feeling. We don't want to be found like
that, do we? That we have a seared conscience. That we hear God's
Word. Doesn't have any effect. Just
passes over us. And we just cast it away, really. We throw it off. We don't want
it to apply. When the Lord, my friends, gives
us that grace, then you see, we are, I believe it's like this,
we are made willing in a day of His power, because His power
has come into our hearts. We're not just following the
Lord in our head. Religion has suddenly taken on
a different aspect, and we are now moved by that Holy Spirit,
just like Cade was, to follow the Lord fully, to
do His will, and to be influenced in our life by the blessed example
of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is our yardstick. There is our example. We have it so clearly. in the
Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, he went
about in much opposition and much hardship from his enemies,
from his friends. In his time of great need, they
all forsook him and fled. Don't always expect everyone
to gather round and say, what a great person, what a wonderful
individual, expect people to leave you, but expect God to be with you. Caleb was able to stand firm
and to encourage the people to do God's will and what gracious words he received
from his God. My servant Caleb. What a blessing
that's spoken of to you and me. By our God, my servant. My servant. And we're only a servant, aren't
we? If we're serving. You're not a servant if you're
not serving. But if you're serving, you're a servant. Surely, Yes,
what a blessing then to have this, my servant Caleb, because
he had another spirit within him and to follow him fully,
him will I bring into the land wherein he went and his seed
shall possess it. To follow this, the Lord fully,
means there's no declining, there's not going backwards, there's
no disputing, There's not any disagreement with the way the
Lord is leading and directing us. It's humble submission to
follow our Lord. Follow Him fully. If you follow
the people, if you follow the world, you will find there's
an empty void that the world can never fill. You will find
You don't have peace. You may pretend you have peace. You may think, well, this is
very pleasant. In your heart, there'll be a
worm, nagging. And you'll realise you're walking
contrary to God. You'll try and put it from you,
perhaps. You'll try and thrust it away.
You won't find any true peace. The only true peace comes when
the Lord gives it. When we have peace with our God.
There's no greater blessing than having peace with God. And my
friends, you only have peace with God when you do His will. When you follow His example.
There's no peace to the wicked. There's no true peace to those
who walk contrary to God. But there is peace for those
who walk with the Lord, who have the answer of a good conscience,
to a good place, to a place of rejoicing, to a place of happiness. Peace indeed. So may we know
it and because what it does, it leads us to this, to believe
that we do have a home that the Lord's gone to prepare. Yes,
he's gone to prepare a place for those who walk this way. Although, therefore, the way
may be hard and difficult and opposition, to know the Lord is with us.
The Lord's taken us by our hand, leading us on gently. What a
sustainer the Lord is. as the Apostle Paul, who had
such a hard life, didn't he? So much opposition. Oh, he did. But gloriously, he was able to
say, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. And that word is as true today
as it was when the Apostle wrote it. You and I today can do all things And that's very true. All things,
not yourself, through Christ, that strengthens you. Read those words. I will go in
the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of His righteousness,
even of His only. What a good place that is. His
righteousness. The righteousness of Christ.
The perfect life. that he lived, what a life it
was. He gave his life so that you
and I might live. So my friends, surely it is a
privilege, surely it is a humbling experience to be numbered amongst
those who desire in their hearts to follow the example of God's
servant Caleb and to be blessed with this spirit, this godly
spirit and to be found wholly following the Lord and to look
forward then to eternal bliss in glory with that Saviour who
God has enabled us to follow wholly. Oh may the Lord bless
us indeed