Caleb Followed God Fully

Again, our pastor, Mr. Jim Tuck. So we have made it through this year, you know, beginning with Passover, and now we've kept the Feast of Tabernacles. And it's like, it's God's way of resetting the year, and we start all over again. And we start telling the story, don't we, of what the church is about, about what we're trying to accomplish, and what we're trying to do.

And frankly, the story of the Bible is the basically the story of the development and the eventual birth of the royal children that are going to be a part of God's kingdom in the future. That basically is the story of the whole Bible, the incredible human potential that God has for those He's calling in this time. And all messages that are in the Bible relate to that. They look to that. And everything that is said, in fact, points to that story, the story of the development of the royal children of God.

You know, we're all familiar with the story in the Bible of how that Moses sent 12 men into Canaan to spy out the land. Let's begin in Numbers chapter 13 over here. Numbers chapter 13, and just the first few verses here to begin with. And the eternal spoke to Moses saying, send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel, for each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.

And so Moses sent them from the wilderness of Peron, according to the command of the eternal, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. So here these 12 men go into this virgin territory, as it were, in many respects, certainly for Israel itself, that they were being sent in there. And they were going to spy out the land for 40 days and search through the land. As he, in fact, if it was, as God had said it was. Now, you know the story and the account of what would happen, but let's break into it over here in verse 25.

It says, and they returned from spying out the land after 40 days. And now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Peron at Kadesh. And they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And it was a tremendous fruit that was in the land. They, you know, they had wild grapes that apparently Joshua and Caleb were the only ones that could carry these.

It was so much. And then they told them and said, we went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. And the Amalekites dwell in the land of the south. These are fierce warrior-type people. The Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites that dwell in the mountains. And Canaanites dwell by the sea along the banks of the Jordan. And then Caleb quieted the people before the Moses and said, let us go up at once and take possession.

For we're well able to overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against the people, for they're stronger than we are. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of a land which they had spied out, saying, the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people whom we saw in it were men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the descendants of Anak, came from the giants and we were like grasshoppers in our own site.

And so we were in their site. And so here Moses sent these 12 spies in and they come back with a bad report. Now, they supported the fact that the land that they had been promised was indeed what it was supposed to be. It was a land flowing with milk and honey.

But only two felt that they could go in and possess the land that only two believed out of the 12. And so, brethren, Caleb stands out, Caleb and Joshua, stand out of the two who tried to reassure the people, but the 10 who brought back the bad report scared the people. Only Joshua and Caleb had the confidence in the promises that God had made about the land. And unfortunately, most heeded the bad message, the bad reports that were given, and the result was the condemnation on those peoples from God. You can read, I'm not going to go to it, but in chapter 14 in verses 36 through 37, it showed that all but Joshua and Caleb died by the plague that God allowed to be placed on Israel. Only Joshua and Caleb survived, and the 10 spies who brought back the bad report, they died. God would not allow a rebellious people to go in and possess this land, this promised land, and he condemned them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of it. Notice in verse chapter 14 in verse 24. Verse 24, but it says, But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him, and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. He had a different spirit. Joshua, of course, did as well, but Caleb had a different attitude altogether, and God spared Joshua and Caleb, and they were able to go on into the promised land. And one of the things that was different about Caleb, he was all in, brethren. He followed God fully.

Caleb, by the way, was married to Miriam, the brother of Moses, and so he was a remarkable man in every sense of the word. I've always been intrigued by what God says about Caleb, though, that he followed me fully. Brethren, could you say that about yourself? Do you follow God fully? What does it mean to follow God fully in your life?

I would think all of us would want to have that as something God said about us. No, interestingly, brethren, there are parallels between the promised land, the millennium, and the world of tomorrow, and being in the kingdom of God. And Joshua and Caleb received physical salvation, as it were, but there is a spiritual analogy for us from what, in fact, Caleb did as being one who followed God fully in his life. He was a different individual altogether. And both Joshua and Caleb are going to be in that first resurrection. They'll be there when that time comes. They're going to have the salvation on top of having the physical salvation that God gave them so that they were able to go on into the promised land. But what a wonderful epithet to a person's life, to have it said that God says that he followed me wholly and fully. I think all of us would like to have that on a tombstone at the end of our life, wouldn't we? That God said that about us. Let's go to Numbers 32. So what does it mean to follow God fully? We're going to explore that in the course of the message here this afternoon. But Numbers 32 over here, let's notice this. Numbers 32 in verses 11 and 12. You know, we don't know a whole lot about Caleb, but what we do know about him, he was a different breed of individual than the average Israelite. It's just as Joshua was. But in Numbers 32 here in verses 11 and 12, just a couple of verses here, it says, Surely none of the men who came from Egypt from twenty years old and above shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham. Isaac and Jadon because they have not wholly followed me except Caleb the son of Zephthah.

And it says, And Joshua the son of Nun. For they have wholly followed the eternal. And so they followed God wholly, fully.

They were the heroes, brethren, of their time.

They were among the few who rose in the nation, and they rose to the occasion. And oftentimes, the heroes are born because of occasions that occur.

I look back through the years, brethren, you know, I've been in, you know, seen people rise to the occasion since I've been in the ministry, year after year. And of course, we could always look at 1995 and other times, which were, we might say, hallmarks in the Church of God of people that rose to the occasion. But Joshua and Caleb were those who did it. Deuteronomy 1. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 1.

Deuteronomy chapter 1 over here in verse 34.

But he was a different kind of an individual. Caleb was. Deuteronomy 1 in verse 36 or 34. And the Eternal heard the sound of your words and was angry, and he took off, saying, Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land, of which I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb, the son of Zephaniah. He shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the Eternal. He wholly followed the Eternal. So again, Caleb was a hero.

And Caleb and Joshua will never be forgotten. So, brethren, how can we follow God fully as Caleb did? How can we do it in the world today, in this society that we're living in?

We have an example that's left. God has said this about Caleb. And, you know, the Bible doesn't have something in it without being valued to us as God's people. As God's people.

And I'm known of people that gave their entire being to the Church of God. And so have you. But how do you follow God fully or wholly?

You know, for what is known about Caleb's life, Caleb was a young man who came through, of course, the time of the escape out of Egypt. So he was with Moses from the beginning. And he stayed with God through his entire life. When the incident occurred with regard to going into the Spieth of Land, Caleb was 40 years old. He was a young man. But he was dedicated his entire life, you know, to God. He didn't waver in that. He didn't change in that. Let's go to Joshua now. Joshua chapter eight over here. Or Joshua chapter six. We'll begin in Joshua chapter six. Now, Caleb had a had gumption. He was the kind of person that had courage.

He wasn't afraid to step up the plate and to be counted. In Joshua chapter 14, verse six here, it says, Then the children of Judah came to Joshua and Gilgal. And Caleb, the son of Zephaniah, and said to him, You know that the word which the Eternal said to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me and Kaddish Barnaiah. I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Eternal, sent me from Kaddish Barnaiah to Spieth of Land, and I brought back word to him, as was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people mouth. But I wholly followed the Eternal, my God.

And so here, he's recounting what he did. And it says, So Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children forever. Because you have wholly followed the Eternal, my God. And now therefore, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these 45 years. How old was he, brethren?

85 years old, right? Been 45 years. Ever since the Eternal spoke this word to Moses, which Israel wandered the wilderness, and now here I am, 85 years old.

So what does it mean to follow God wholly, brethren? It means to determine to follow God all the days of your life. From the time that you are converted, from the time that you are changed, that you make a promise to God, you don't break that promise. You keep that promise until the day you die.

That's what it means to surrender to Jesus Christ.

And so to follow God wholly, that's what it means.

It doesn't mean, brethren, that we give up and jump to the side, but we keep going forward, no matter what we face in our life. Nobody here has done things perfectly in their lives. In their calling.

If you have, I'd like to talk to you afterwards. But I know none of us have.

But one thing we should not be faulted on is ever giving up.

I always remember somebody telling me one time, the only way you can lose in your calling is if you give up. That's the only way. You never give up. You never lose.

You may get off the track, but you can get on the track. And God will never leave you or forsake you.

So to fully follow God in your life is to do so until the day you die. Or the time when Jesus Christ returns. I think I would take either. God wants us to be faithful, but either way, whatever he wants, whatever his will is, whether we die, having finished our course, or we wait till the return of Christ, either way. Yet many do not follow God in this way. Also, we have examples in the Bible about how people can be. It's like the example of Lot's wife. We have that story in the book of Genesis, and how she just didn't want to get out of Sodom. And she was warned not to look back, as also was Lot. But she looked back, and the Bible said she was turned to a pillar of salt. And Jesus says this, Christ says this, remember Lot's wife. You don't look back. You don't look back. You keep pushing forward in your life. You never give up.

Be like Winston Churchill, who said, never, never, never give in. How about the example of Solomon? Solomon is an example of somebody, he turned away from God as he got older because of the women he married. You know, who began to bring in their false gods. When we read the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, we get some hope that maybe Solomon repented, and saw the error of his ways. One would think that. I think if you look at Jewish history, they do believe that Solomon did. He did make a change at the end of his life. But you see, he was doing well at the very beginning. His vanity got the best of it. And he got off the track.

How about the Galatians, brethren? The Galatians, Paul wrote them in the book of Galatians. He said, I'm shocked. I'm shocked. You know, how, who's bewitched you? How did you switch? You turn to another gospel. How could that be? I know I've seen people that I've been shocked about in years past. But, brethren, God should be shocked by us.

He should know that we're going to hold fast, no matter what. That we're going to go after that crown of life. We're going to lay a hold on it. And we're going to accomplish it. We're going to do it. I remember when I, you know, I made my commitment to God. And I knew I, you know, I didn't know, I didn't, I knew I didn't have the strength to do it on my own. But I did promise God this one thing. God, if you will help me, I'll drag my carcass across the finish line. If you'll help me.

And I've sort of operated on that approach in my life to never give up. But let's go to Psalm 92. Psalm 92.

You know, the way God intended it to be is the younger of the congregation should seek the wisdom of the older.

That means that someone who is in the congregation who's older, at one time they were young. You know, I know it's hard to imagine that people like, you know, Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Scriber and myself, you know, at one time we were, you know, young fellows. You know, we were, we were your age, some of you here, sitting where you are. It doesn't seem like, like, very long ago. I mean, I first started studying the Bible. 17 years of age, 16 years of age, didn't know anything, because then I knew everything in the world. And the older got the surprise of how much you don't know. The only thing I've learned as I get older is how much I don't know. It's like it increases every year. And if you haven't come to that, you've not gotten old enough, you know. But I'm sure that all of you who've been, are going down that road know what I'm talking about. You just realize how much you just simply don't know. I say, I don't know more now than I ever did when I was 17. You know. But let's notice here in Psalm 92, verse 12, it says, the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. I mean, that is growing like gangbusters, brother.

Those who were planted in the house of the Eternal shall flourish in the courts of our God, and they shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Eternal is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

So that's the way it should be. You start out young, you get old in the church, and you're just as dedicated, maybe more dedicated, the older you get. The best way to serve God, young people, is all your life. That's the best way. If you were born into the church, you, I mean, you have the crown on your head already, almost. If you were born in the church, you've got a golden platter of opportunity that's been given to you. If you were born in the church, use it. Use it because in the end, you're going to be really appreciative of the fact that you applied yourself all the days of your life and the rewards that God is going to give you for it. You know, I didn't grow up in the church myself. I'm around, sometimes I'm around fellows in the church, in the ministry, that in fact grew up in the church. And you know, I have to say, sometimes I'm envious of them, because they had parents that taught them this book when they were growing up. A lot of things they know, it's like second nature.

So I'm envious of some of the men who are now have been in the ministry for 40 and 50 years. They grew up in the church. I feel like sometimes I have to say, because they went to Imperial schools, they had all of that background. Sometimes I somewhat feel like I'm an outsider, you know, to be truthful about it. But if you grew up in the church, you have a golden opportunity. Use it. God is training you, He's teaching you. And follow. You know, the Bible says that no man who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. So don't look back. You keep pushing forward. So to follow God holy means to follow God all the days of your life.

Number two way that we can follow God holy, brethren, is to follow God with your whole heart. But to put your heart into it, that's what it's going to take to secure that crown of life that Mr. Judson talked about. You know what, brethren? Where your head is, that's where your heart's going to be. What do you think about? That's where your heart is going to be. And where your heart is, that's where your head's going to be as well. You want to be with God's people. But Caleb followed the Lord fully and wholly with his whole heart. And as I mentioned, he was married to Miriam, who was a prophetess of God.

He was, of course, no doubt close to Moses. Since Miriam, again, was Moses' sister.

He was one learning, dedicated even as Miriam was dedicated. You know, his report, when he came back from the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, his report showed his heart. It showed his focus was on God's promise, what God said. He did not doubt the promise of God.

You know, faith, brethren, is simply put, believing what God has said will happen. That's all you got to do. You know, being a Christian is pretty simple, if we really understand what God wants us to do. And that is to believe him. Now, believe what he says. That's what Caleb did. He believed what God had said would happen.

The Bible tells us that Abraham believed God, and it was imputed for him for righteousness. He was among very few that actually did believe God.

Caleb merely believed that God would help them take the land by miracles. I mean, for crying out loud, God delivered them from Egypt.

So you think he went to school on that one, did he? And he said, well, you know, God helped us here. We're going to go all the way into the promise land. Let's go to Matthew 22. Matthew 22. Over here in Matthew 22, in verses 36-38, like I say, it's rather simple to be a Christian.

All we've got to do is learn what God says and believe him. Don't doubt him. But in Matthew 22, verse 36, Christ was asked, what is the great commandment?

And this sums it up, brethren, right here. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the first and great commandment. That's all we have to do, brethren, is love God with all of our heart. So we need to fulfill that, the greatest commandment for a human being upon earth, and to follow God fully with all of our heart.

I mentioned that Solomon turned from God in his old age. He was turned because of foreign wives and their false gods, and he built high places to the pagan gods for his wives. His heart was was divided. This is the way Satan works. He wants to divide your heart, begin to get you to look somewhere else, besides where you should be looking. And when we look somewhere else, brethren, other than where we are supposed to be looking, and that is the King of God, that's when the corruption enters in. We need our hearts, brethren, focused on the true God.

You know, Jesus said, no man can serve two masters, for either will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and he'll despise the other. You cannot serve God and man. You've got to be focused, focused on God. This world, brethren, worships a false Christ. It believes a false gospel. It has a false spirit.

And the Bible tells we've got to come out of the world, be separate from that world that is out there. You know, at the end of the age, the message will come out that we are to be separate, so that we don't partake of the plagues of this world and the society that is out here. And some are going to refuse to come out. They want to be a part of the world. And unfortunately, they're going to experience the plagues that they're warned about. So, brethren, to follow God like Caleb followed God, we must follow him with our whole heart.

Rededicate, brethren, your life to that.

Reconfirm your commitment to God, your spiritual commitment that you made at baptism, to go the gamut, to go to the very end. Another important part of following God with your whole heart is to follow God during the times of trials.

Follow God during the times of trial.

You know, David's story is a story of trials. King David went through so many trials in his life. Trying to do the right thing in his life. And his friends were not friends at all sometimes for him. They were not praying for David. They were praying, P-R-E, for David.

But I want you to think about Caleb now again, since he's the topic. Courageous. Caleb followed the Lord despite the dangers. Can you imagine how hard it was for Joshua and Caleb to come back with 10 other people that were of a different opinion?

They were going to bring a bad report. Don't you think they talked about these things on the way back? I would imagine that their lives were in danger. Some articles actually say that Caleb and Joshua withheld what they were going to say until they said it.

Because otherwise they would not have been given the opportunity to say it. They would have been cut off.

But Caleb was willing to face not only the giants of the land, but he was willing to face whatever happened to them. And as a result of going against these 10 spies, it brought back a bad report.

He saw the very same things that the others did.

But you know what? The difference between him and the other 10 is that he was willing to trust and believe God.

You have to often wonder about that, you know. I've been in meetings by people. We've had ministers sometimes that sort of wring their hands. Oh, I don't know if the church is going to survive. Or I don't know if we're going to make it through this trial. As though God didn't know what he was doing. But God was not up on his throne.

Unfortunately, some of those men that were doing the hand-wringing, they were a whole pane. The church would fail. So that they could get their own little following. Sadly.

Sadly, that is what happens. Let's go to Numbers chapter 14. Numbers chapter 14. We don't ever have to worry about, brethren, God being on his throne. God is in charge. He's the head of the church. He is well able to lead us.

In Numbers chapter 14 and verse 7.

Numbers 14 and verse 7 here.

It says, It says, What is he saying here? If we please God, then God is going to give this land to us. You know, God didn't bring them out of Egypt to deliver them to die. No, Joshua and Caleb looked at it very positively. If God delights in us, then he will bring us in the land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the eternal, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. And their protection has departed from them, and the eternal is with you. Do not fear them. In all the congregations said to stone them with stones. See the danger level here? Now the glory of the eternal appeared in the Tabernacle meeting before all the children of Israel. So here was Joshua and Caleb and Moses and Aaron, and they're standing against the whole congregation. Two and a half million people up in arms!

That's following God, brethren, through times of trial.

Caleb was willing to face the anger and the wrath of the people of Israel and his own brethren. You know, sometimes that's harder to do when you have to face your own people, your own brethren. The friends, then to stand against faceless masses. It's a hard thing to do. But he was willing to do it, brethren. Caleb and Joshua stood for the truth.

But you think about this fact, brethren, that meaning serve God only if it's convenient for them.

And there are no obstacles to obey. If everything was smooth sailing, you know, there was never a trial that you went through. You know, imagine, I know when I was baptized, I thought, boy, now comes the cream. You know, the real good stuff begins to happen now, because it had been, you know, kind of a forgive me for my language, hell, leading up to my baptism. And I thought, it's going to be all very smooth sailing, boy, when I was wrong.

But you know, there's a lot of people who are willing to serve God when there are no obstacles. I say that because as soon as I was baptized, I faced the problem of the Sabbath on the job. I'll tell you about that another time if you don't remember the story. Most will do it if it's popular to do it. If you notice that there's nothing that wins like success. If everybody's doing it, I mean, you want to do it. Just the way people are.

You know, some followed Jesus Christ when there was a big crowd with them. And when the crowd dissipated, they left as well.

I think that's the way it has been in the church. Now, there have been times when we've had, I mean, so many people in the church. I was talking to somebody the other day about Alabama back in Alabama. We had 450 people in two churches in Alabama. Birmingham, I think, back in those years was about six to seven hundred people in Birmingham. AM and PM services.

We'd get together for family weekends. We'd have 1500 people there.

And it's true all over the country, by the way. But nothing succeeds like success.

And, you know, with Christ, as long as the big crowds were around, and then after, of course, some had left, Jesus said to his disciples, are you going to leave too? You're going to leave right along with him? And Peter said, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Most will do something if it's safe, like Peter was. Peter was okay until he was confronted with somebody that might have caused him to be arrested that day and himself suffered a great deal. Let's go to Matthew chapter 26 here and notice what it says over here about this. Brethren, I hope after this feast of Tabardacles that you're going to rededicate your life in terms of what you're committed to do. You're going to ramp up what you demand of yourself. But in Matthew chapter 26, let's notice the example though here. Peter, what happened when the chips were down? Of course, he thought he was very brave. And Peter, of course, had that whole problem of foot and mouth disease, putting his foot in his mouth more than others did. You know, oftentimes Peter went big, too big, too big for what, in fact, he could do. But here in Matthew chapter 26 of verse 69, and it says, Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you're saying. Girl, I don't know what in the world you're talking about. And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, to those who were there, this fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth. But again, he denied with an oath, I do not know that man. I don't know him.

And a little later, those who stood by came up and said to Peter, surely you're also one of them, for your speech even betrays you. And then he began to curse and swear and say, I do not know the man. And he remembered the story immediately, the rooster crowed. And Peter went out and he wept bitterly. He was one of those, brethren, that was willing to stand as long as there were no big trials there. And unfortunately, the Bible is pretty cruel, isn't it, to its heroes. We're going to be reading about this story about Peter in the Second Resurrection, period, when we have to teach people them. And Peter will be right there saying, look, this is the way I was. And of course, we know he changed. He was quite a remarkable individual at the end of his life. This is the real test, brethren, whether we will follow God fully. In the face of trial, in the face of pressure, of trouble, will we follow God anyway. Caleb did. He stood among Joshua, Moses, and Aaron before millions of shouting, vindictive Israelites who wanted to stone them. And he would not relent.

You know, we really don't have any need to be afraid, brethren. Jesus said to us, fear not, little flock. It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. If God is for us, who can be against us, as the Scripture says, brethren? Caleb's commitment to God is to be truly commended, brethren. But how can we, brethren, be committed like Caleb?

Important part of doing that, brethren, is to keep your eye on God, to keep your eye on God.

Caleb's faith wasn't in himself. His faith was in God. He knew God would allow them to defeat the strong peoples of Canaan if Israel delighted God, if they had the right attitude. And, brethren, we need, as a collective group of people here, as God's people, a right attitude of working together, of working in unity with one another, and looking to God, and trusting God. If we can accomplish so much, brethren.

Caleb was confident that with God's help, they could go in and take the Lamb. He set a tremendous example for all of us. Let's go to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 over here. Chapter 11 of Hebrews is, I like to call it, the Hall of Fame of the Old Testament Church and the New Testament Church. And, of course, with the apostles and what they suffered, would be included, of course, in those who were so faithful to God.

But then we come to chapter 12.

It says, therefore, we also, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, people like Caleb and Joshua and Moses and all of them, all the patriarchs and matriarchs, were dedicated to God. Let us lay aside every weight. You got something you think is heavy in your life? Lay it aside and push forward. And the sin was so easily ensnares us. You got a problem? Overcome it. Don't let it ensnare you and trap you. And let us run with endurance the races set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Didn't have to, but he did for all of us, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Remember what he went through.

But notice it says, you have not resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. None of us have had to do that.

I don't know of anybody that has suffered in the flesh in the church. Nobody who's been, you know, somehow caused to shed blood. I'm sure somewhere in God's church it may have happened, but I don't know of anybody. Now that doesn't mean it won't happen for us. But, brethren, if we don't have the right attitude, we're not going to be able to weather it anyway, are we? If we don't have the right attitude now.

But Caleb was a marvelous example. He had, Caleb had a different spirit, the Bible says. If you ever looked at that verse where it says that Caleb had a different spirit, what does that mean? Joshua had a different spirit, too, than the 10 spies that gave a bad report. But Caleb had another spirit. Let me tell you about the spirit that he had.

His spirit involved keeping your eye on God.

Caleb had a different spirit in that. Caleb had a winning attitude. A spirit is an attitude, by the way. It's an attitude a person has.

Caleb had the attitude, let's go in and get him! All right?

And the other 10, you know, they were scaredy cats, weren't they? They were defeatists. And you know what? If you have a defeatist attitude, what's going to happen to you? Anybody know? You're going to be defeated.

If you say, I can't do that, I can't accomplish that, I, you know, you're, you're saying, you know, over and over again, I, no, I can't do it. You know what? You can't do it with that attitude. But if you have a defeatist attitude, you will be defeated. If you have a winning attitude, like Caleb, you will win. And God will make it happen for you.

There's a great truth in the Bible. You are what you think.

You're dwelling on the fact that always you're going to lose, you will lose. Somehow you got to turn that mind around altogether. This is what Jamison Fossett Brown says about Caleb. Under the influence of God's Spirit, Caleb was a man of boldness. He was a man of generosity and heroic courage above worldly anxieties and fears. That was his attitude.

Brethren, we should have a different spirit than others in this world. And the Holy Spirit allows us to have a positive attitude, a winning attitude, an uplifting attitude in the face of whatever it might be that we may go through. Mr. Zimmerman last week turned to Philippians chapter 4, verse 8. Let's quickly notice over here, but I want to show you another verse, one other verse that Paul does point out that comes along with, brethren, a positive attitude. Philippians chapter 4 here in verse 8, notice this. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Think about these things, the positive things in life. And notice verse 13, though, what Paul's attitude was, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I got that right attitude. I can do anything. I can accomplish anything. You can overcome anything. I mentioned to you, brethren, that the world has another spirit. Has another spirit. It really does.

And there are many spirits that have gone out into the world. We know there's the spirit of Antichrist. The Bible talks of spirit of divination. There's a spirit of bondage, a spirit of error, a spirit of fear. But what does the Bible tell us? It tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but God has given us the spirit of courage, brethren, of confidence. That's the spirit that God has given to us.

Hey, I'm going to win the crowd of life. You know, attitude. I'm going to win. Brethren, we must mimic Caleb as we seek the kingdom of God. He's an example of what God can do if we have the courage to believe. It does take courage to believe in this world that is upside down and topsy turvy. Caleb is left as an example for us. Caleb spied out Canaan as a faithful servant and brought back a good report. And God praised his example because he said he followed me fully. In the same way, brethren, we're living now in the wilderness of this world.

We're ready to enter the promised land of the world tomorrow. Will we disbelieve like the ten spies who brought back a bad report? Or will we be optimistic like Caleb and go in and take the crown of life that God says is ours?

Caleb's power of life, brethren, is to inspire us to follow God wholly in our lives. God blessed Caleb physically, and he will bless him spiritually in the coming kingdom of God when he's brought up in that first resurrection. He's going to be right there, brethren. So how, again, can we follow God fully like Caleb? Number one, follow God all the days of your life. Number two, do it with all your heart, and soul, and mind. Number three, follow God even when you suffer trials in your life. And number four, keep your eye on God.

And number five, brethren, is have that different spirit that is out there in that world. You have a winning spirit, a believing spirit of, I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me, attitude. Those who didn't have these characteristics during Caleb's day died in the wilderness. Caleb's example shows us, brethren, how to live and prosper now, and how to be in the promised land of the world tomorrow in the future. So let's learn, brethren, from Caleb, to follow God fully.