Sermon #998
Title: FOLLOW THE LORD FULLY
Text: Numbers 14:24
Reading: Office: Auditorium:
Subject: Consecration
Date: Sunday Morning - 1991
Tape #
Introduction:
The title of my message today is - Follow the Lord Fully! I have only one
thing that I want to show you, one thought that I pray the Spirit of God will
set in our hearts, one thing I want us to leave here today knowing, desiring,
and determined, by the grace of God, to set our hearts upon...
Proposition: It is a
blessed thing to follow the Lord fully!
The Lord God declared to Moses that he
would destroy all of Israel in the wilderness because of their unbelief, except
for Joshua and Caleb. He spent forty years fulfilling his word. But at the end
of forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the only two people who left
Egypt above twenty-years old who entered the land of Canaan were Joshua and
Caleb. Everyone else died in the wilderness because of unbelief!
When God told Moses how he would deal
with the nation of evil-doers, one man stood out above all the rest as an
example of faith, commitment, and consecration. Read what God says about that
man in Numbers 14:24 -
“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!”
The name Caleb, I am told has two meanings, First, it means
“a dog.” Though commonly, when a man is referred to as a dog it is a great
offense, that is not the case here. A dog has one admirable feature, one virtue
that no other animal possesses. A dog always follows his master. He is the most
loyal, faithful animal on the earth. In that sense Caleb was indeed a dog, a
loyal, faithful dog. He followed his Master from the day that he left Egypt
until the day that he was called home to glory. God, make me such a dog!
The name Caleb also means “all heart.”
What a name for a man! But it perfectly suited this man. Caleb was all heart.
There was nothing half-hearted, lukewarm, or insincere about him. Caleb was all
heart. I have known many who had a head to understand, but no heart, a hand to
work, but no heart, and feet to go, but no heart. Not Caleb! His head was
clear. But he was all heart. His hands were strong. And his feet were both
steady and ready. But he was all heart. Whatsoever he did, in word or in deed,
he did 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. He
was faithful to his Master in all things, following the Lord fully with all his
heart.
I. WHAT MADE CALEB THE MAN HE
WAS?
There were millions in Israel. But Caleb was different from
the rest. What made him so peculiar? What made him different? What caused Caleb
to be such a faithful, whole-hearted man?
The Lord tells us plainly - “He had another spirit.” That which
distinguished Caleb from all the millions around him was the fact that God had
put his Spirit within him. He had been made a new creature in Christ (Ezek.
36:24-30).
This is where we must begin. If you
and I would follow the Lord fully, there must be given to us a new heart, a new
spirit, a new nature. And that new heart can be found only at the feet of the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, where the Spirit of God works through the
bleeding wounds of the crucified Savior (Zech. 12:10).
Come to Christ. Fall before the
crucified Son of God as a guilty sinner. Confess your sin. Sue for mercy. Lay
hold upon the Son of God like Jacob of old. And do not let him go until he has
given you his Spirit (John 7:37-39; Eph. 1:13-14).
NOTE: I know that you cannot believe unless you have
the Spirit of God. And I know that you cannot
have
the Spirit of Christ unless you believe!
The Spirit of life and grace is given
to those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you would follow the Lord
fully, you must be filled with, controlled by, led by, ruled by the Spirit of
God (Eph. 5:18; Rom. 8;17).
Caleb was the man he was “because he had another Spirit with him.” The
Spirit of God made him a new Spirit.
·
A believing
spirit - Caleb took God at his Word.
·
A meek spirit
- Caleb recognized who and what he was before God.
·
A brave spirit
- Meek men are always courageous men.
·
A loving
spirit - Grace makes men and women loving.
·
A zealous
spirit - Consecrated and committed to God.
·
A heavenly
spirit - Caleb lived on earth with his heart in heaven.
“Because
he had another Spirit with him,” God says, “he hath followed me fully.”
II. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT IS
IT TO FOLLOW THE LORD FULLY?
Caleb was not a prophet or a preacher! He was just a man who
believed God who followed the Lord fully!
I am afraid very few of us follow the
Lord fully. 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. But I pray that God will give us grace to follow our Savior
fully, like Caleb did.
A.
When God says that Caleb followed the Lord fully, he means for us to understand
that Caleb followed Christ in all things.
His obedience to Christ was universal. Whatever his Master
told him to do, he did. He did not pick and choose what he would do. He
followed the Lord fully. He would not violate the will of God at any point.
·
In doctrine.
·
In worship.
·
In duty.
Caleb was consecrated to God...
·
His mind.
·
His heart.
·
His money.
·
His family.
·
His life!
Spurgeon said, “A spirit of partial obedience is a spirit of
radical disobedience.”
Illustration: The Prophet eaten by the lion
at Bethel (1 Kgs. 13:24).
B.
Caleb followed the Lord sincerely, without hypocrisy. (Matt. 15:8-9).
His obedience was sincere. And he
proved it. One of the surest tests of sincerity is a person’s willingness to
suffer for the cause of Christ. When the spies came back from the land, Caleb dared
to speak alone for God against the rest (Num. 13:27-33). Even when they took up
stones to kill him, he stood firm (14:6-10). Caleb followed Christ at all
hazards!
There are many who follow Christ in
the sunshine who will not follow him in the storm. And many will follow him in
the storm of need who will not follow him in the sunshine of prosperity.
C.
Caleb followed the Lord cheerfully.
Those who serve God with a grumbling heart do not serve God
at all. “Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne. He is the Lord of the
empire of love” (Spurgeon). That obedience which is not cheerful obedience is
disobedience, “for the Lord looketh on
the heart.”
God will not accept legal obedience. He will not receive
anything that is not performed from a willing, cheerful heart (2 Cor. 8:12;
9;7).
D.
And Caleb followed the Lord to the end of his days.
Now, I want to camp here a little while. Caleb was forty
years old when he went in to spy out the land. Apparently, he was about
thirty-five 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.
·
Caleb saw
redemption - The Passover, and experienced it.
·
Caleb passed
through the Red Sea!
·
Caleb believed
God!
Then, when he was forty years old, he
spied out the land and brought back a true report and a word of faith - “We are well able to overcome it!” For
forty-five years after that he lived among an unbelieving people who called
themselves the people of God. But all that time Caleb followed the Lord. Never
once did he consort with the murmuring crowd. Never once did he join with the
rebels. And when his time came to claim his heritage, at the age of
eighty-five, this grand old man 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. Their religion comes in spasms.
They leap into the church like the flying-fish leaps into the air. And they
fall back again into the world like the fish falls again into the water. The
one thing that is required of stewards is that they be found faithful. But the
one thing lacking in these shooting stars is faithfulness! The only thing you
can depend upon with them is the fact that you cannot depend upon them! And I
know the reason - They go out from us because they are not of us; for if they
had been of us, doubtless they would have continued with us (1 John 2:19).
NOTE: I do not mean they cease to profess to follow
the Lord. I mean they cease to follow him!
1.
There are many
like Lot’s wife - They flee out of Sodom for fear, but look back with regret.
Lot’s wife was greatly alarmed. Angels laid hold upon her. She heard the words
of warning. She fled from the city of destruction. But she perished in the way!
How many are like her? While she fled from Sodom, she left everything in the
city, even her heart!
2.
Many are like
those in John 6. They follow the Lord for a time. They are called his
disciples. They hear the word enthusiastically. But in time they are offended.
·
By the
doctrine of Christ.
·
By some duty
of faith.
·
Some petty
something!
3. Many are like the Galatians. When Paul first preached to
them, they received him, “As an angel of
God, even as Christ Jesus.” They spoke of the blessedness of being in
Christ. They rejoiced in God’s great salvation. They so loved Paul that they
would have plucked out their eyes and given them to him (Gal. 4:150. But they
were soon bewitched by the Judaizers and began to hate Paul because he told
them the truth (3:1; 4:16). They clung to their religious profession, but
departed from Christ (Gal. 5:2, 4).
4. Many in time of affliction begin to follow Christ, but do
not follow the Lord fully (Psa. 78:34-37).
Hear the parable of the sower and be
warned (Matt. 13:20). “All are not Israel
which are of Israel.” All that glitters is not gold. If we would follow the
Lord fully, we must follow the Lord always! Perseverance is the characteristic
of faith. True faith never quits. It never quits believing. It never quits
obeying. It never quits following (John 8:31; 1 Cor. 15:2; Col. 1:21-23; Heb.
3:6, 14; 10:35-38). We must be like...
·
Jephthah, who
said, “I cannot go back.”
·
Mary, who sat
at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.
·
Simeon, who
even in his old age was found in the house of God, waiting for the consolation
of Israel.
·
Paul, pressing
toward the mark, constantly (Phil. 3; 1 Cor. 9:27).
·
The palm tree
and the cedar tree, faithful to the end, bringing forth fruit in their old age
(Psa. 92:12-14).
·
Like fine
wine, the older the better.
This is what God says - “The
righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger
and stronger” (Job 17:9).
“The
path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the
perfect day” (Prov. 4:18).
“He
that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 10:22). NOTE: My friends, the most
dangerous thing on this earth that you and I have to face is that carnal ease
and security that is the forerunner of apostasy - “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion!” And the first step toward
apostasy is the neglect of God’s Word and
worship (Heb. 10:25-26).
I am calling upon you, more
specifically, I am calling upon myself to follow the Lord fully, like Caleb.
God let me be a man whose name is synonymous with “faithful dog” and “all
heart”. Follow the Lord fully!
·
Follow Christ
in his unswerving faithfulness.
·
Follow Christ
in his self-denying obedience.
·
Follow Christ
in his self-sacrificing love.
·
Follow Christ
in his total consecration.
Do not be like those five foolish
virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). Do not be content with the lamp of profession. Make
sure you have the oil of grace! “Ye are
not your own!”
Where there is life there is growth - “Grow in grace.” In faith - in love - in consecration to God - Not less and less, not more and less, not
less and more, but more and more.
III. WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT DO WE
HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LORD FULLY?
Perhaps you are thinking, “Don, what you have said is good.
What you have said is true. I know I ought to consecrate myself to the Lord
fully. But it is not practical to live like that.” Look at Caleb and learn what
God declares - “Them that honor me I will
honor” (1 Sam. 2:30).
I am telling you, if you are a
believer, the most costly thing on this earth you can do is fail to follow the
Lord fully - Sodom cost Lot everything he had but his soul! And the most
practical, most advantageous thing you can possibly do in this world is follow
the Lord fully.
Look how God honored Caleb, because he
followed the Lord fully!
A.
When God destroyed his family and friends, Caleb was preserved. He perished not in the wilderness. He entered the land of
rest.
B.
He was blessed with a long life of vigor and usefulness.
C.
He was exalted to a place of honor among his brethren.
Illustration: “Son, that’s Caleb. Were it not Caleb,
we would never have entered this land.
How God has used Caleb.”
D.
Caleb had the distinguishing honor of being given the hardest service - (Hebron,
the sons of Anak - Josh. 14:11-14; 15:14).
Get your heart right and you are
independent of difficulties and dangers!
Illustration: A train traveling through the fog.
E.
Caleb had the privilege of enjoying what he desired. He possessed the land.
You will never win Hebron for yourself or the church, if you
are always talking about the giants, and the difficulties, and the dangers.
There are no difficulties to the man who believes God!
F.
Caleb left a great blessing to his children.
·
His sons
reaped the benefits of his faithfulness.
·
His daughters
had a double portion - The upper and nether springs (Josh. 15:16-20).
Application: Follow the
Lord fully!
1.
This is the
secret of a happy life.
Whatever you lose by following Christ,
he will reward you in this world a hundredfold in peace of conscience (Matt.
19:27-29).
2.
This is the way to be useful.
“I
will bless thee and make thee a blessing.”
3.
This is the way to die happily (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
Hymn #384.
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
“Take thy cross and follow, follow me.”
Refrain: Where He
leads me, I will follow,
Where he leads me, I will follow -
Where He leads me, I will follow -
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
I’ll go with Him through the garden -
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
I’ll go with Him through the judgment -
I’ll go with Him, with Him, all the way.
He will give me grace and glory -
I’ll go with Him, with Him, all the way!