Following The Lord Fully.

Adapted From A Sermon By

George Burder

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

(Numbers 14:24 ESV)

This morning, let us be warned, encouraged and helped in our christian walk by this sermon by George Burder about Following the Lord Fully.

Our text is Numbers 14:24: But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

It was well said by the prophet Elijah, to the people of Israel, when they went "limping between two different opinions," "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him;"(1 Kings 18:21) and so may we say to persons who are lukewarm and irresolute in matters of religion, If the religion of the Gospel is true and divine, then profess and practice it with all your hearts; but, if you can prove it to be false, then abandon it altogether.

There are many people, who are so far convinced of the necessity of being religions, that they pay some little, cold, occasional, external regard to it, while their hearts are evidently attached to sin and to the world; but there are few, we fear, comparatively very few indeed, who are like Caleb, one of the princes of Israel, whose high commendation we have in the text, that he followed the Lord fully; and great was the honor that God put upon him for so doing,

When the children of Israel had left Egypt a few months, and had advanced towards the borders of the promised land, they wanted Moses to send spies into it, to see whether its inhabitants were few or many, strong or weak; whether they dwelt in tents or in fortified cities, and whether the land was fertile or barren.—

This motion arose entirely from their unbelief. God, who had brought them out of Egypt by a series of miracles, had repeatedly declared that the land flowed with milk and honey; and he had assured them, by solemn promises, that he would give them possession of it: what need then was there for these inquiries? But God, to punish them for their unbelief, permitted the experiment to be made; and what was the result? Ten out of the twelve appointed surveyors, returned and reported that the land was indeed admirably good, and they produced fine specimens of its excellent fruits; but, they said, the people are very numerous, strong, and warlike; they dwell in highly walled and well fortified cities; and many of the soldiers are so gigantic in stature, that we seemed in their sight but mere grasshoppers.

This bad report increased their previous fears; and, forgetting the power and the promise of God, they mutinied, and determined to appoint a captain, in opposition to Moses, and go back again to Egypt and to slavery.

Caleb and Joshua, who were faithful to God, attempted in vain to appease the people, by assuring them that warlike as the nations were, God, the only defense of nations, had forsaken them,—that Jehovah was with Israel, and that they should assuredly defeat them. God, who is more displeased with unbelief than with any other crime, then declared in his wrath, that these rebels would never see the country they had despised—that they would perish in the wilderness—but, that their children, headed by Joshua and his faithful friend, would joyfully possess the promised land. "My servant Caleb," says the text, "because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it."

Doubtless these things are written for our own admonition. The fate of the rebellious Israelites, loudly warns us "while the promise of entering his rest still stands,” to “fear lest any of us should seem to have failed to reach it;"(Hebrews 4:1) while it also powerfully invites us to imitate the example of the pious Caleb, that we too may receive the divine approval.

The words of the text lead us to the three following observations.

First. Real Christians are actuated by a different spirit from that of the world.—"Caleb had another spirit with him."

Secondly. Those who possess a right spirit, will follow the Lord fully:—and

Thirdly. That those who follow the Lord fully will be honorably distinguished by him.

First. We observe that real Christians are actuated by a different spirit from that of the world.—The apostle Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians distinguishes between the two different spirits by which men are actuated; he says, "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."(1 Corinthians 2:12) —

Let us, in a few particulars, contrast these opposite spirits.—The spirit of the world is a spirit of darkness and error; for we are assured, in the passage just referred to, that "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,"(1 Corinthians 2:14) even when they are proposed to him; and though they are a display of the infinite wisdom of God, they seem "folly to him;" and while he is under the influence of the spirit of the world, "he is not able to understand them," for, to know them aright we must have "the Spirit of God:" by his aid alone they are "spiritually discerned;" and all believers have the Spirit of God, who is also "the Spirit of Truth ;" and by his teaching they "understand the things freely given us by God."(1 Corinthians 2:12)

The spirit of the world is a spirit that is hostile to God. "The mind that is set on the flesh," of which the apostle speaks—unchanged by the Spirit of God, is "is hostile to God;"(Romans 8:7) and this hostility against God is manifested both by disobedience to the divine law, and contempt of the divine Gospel; so that those who are yet "in the flesh, cannot please God,"(Romans 8:8) and "anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him"(Romans 8:9) but, if the Spirit of God, which is also the Spirit of love, dwell in us, then we are brought into a state of reconciliation and friendship with God, and are enabled to walk with him in love.

—Again, the spirit of the world is a spirit of pride. Pride is natural to man—to every man; so that every mortal, however poor, guilty, and condemned by the broken law of God, fondly conceives that he has some excellencies that raise him above others, and can venture to boast of his good heart and of his good works: but, how contrary is this to the humbling Gospel of Jesus! Our Lord himself says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 5:3)—"when the commandment comes"(Romans 7:9)—when the law comes to the conscience with light and power, as it once did to the heart of Saul the Pharisee, then pride receives a deadly blow; the rebel falls at the feet of Christ, and cries "Lord, what do You want me to do;"(Acts 9:6 NKJV) he receives the broken heart and the contrite spirit, which in the sight of God are of great price.

Once more, the spirit of the world is an slothful spirit, that is, in matters of religion: however diligent a man may be in the affairs of the world, yet how irksome to him is prayer, and other religious duties! how dull and tedious the Sabbath day! what a neglected book is the Bible! But, when we have the Spirit of God, we possess an active spirit, compared in Scripture to "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life,"(John 4:14) and making the exercises of pure religion natural and pleasant to us.

—Again, the spirit of the world is an earthly spirit—so our Lord testifies that, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh"(John 3:6)—it is nothing more—nothing better. While men remain in a state of nature, they "love the world and the things of the world;"(1 John 2:15) they seek and delight only in carnal objects; but if we have the Spirit of God, we “seek those things which are above,"(Colossians 3:1) and give a natural preference to them; weighing them in the balances of the sanctuary, where all things else, compared with them, must be found lacking.

—The spirit of the world is a cowardly spirit. The spies were terrified with the gigantic stature of the Amalekites, but they forgot the Almighty God, who had delivered them out of Egypt, carried them through the Red Sea, sustained them by miracle in the wilderness, and promised to deliver them from all their enemies. And so natural men are deeply afraid of the difficulties of Religion; they are extremely afraid of facing the scornful smile of the world, for "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”(2 Timothy 3:12) at least that kind of persecution; but, on the other hand, if we have the Spirit of God, we will not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ—of the cause of Christ—of the name of Christ; but we will determine, with courageous Paul, to glory and to glory in nothing else but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Finally, the spirit of the world is a spirit of unbelief—this was the great crime of the people spoken of in this chapter; and the Lord complains, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?"(Numbers 14:11) And sadly how slowly do men give credit to the God of truth! How disposed they are to carp at every peculiar and distinguishing doctrine of grace, and to catch hold of every difficulty and objection they can; while, perhaps, they themselves are slaves of their credulity as to the things of this world, and can be taken in by even the most obvious deceptions; but the real Christian is moved by "the Spirit of truth;" he is "led into all the truth,"(John 16:13) and the Spirit of God in him is "a Spirit of faith;"(2 Corinthians 4:13) he hears the word, mixes faith with it, and is profited by it. But,

In the second place, Those who possess a right spirit will follow the Lord fully.—"My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully."

To “follow the Lord," is a scriptural phrase, in allusion to the affairs of men, and is used to include the whole of true religion. We know how soldiers follow their leader, children follow their parents, disciples follow their teacher; and following the Lord fully, is to be distinguished from following him partially, as many do—some profess to approve of serious religion, and perhaps, do many things gladly;(Mark 6:20) yet they hold some things back; there are some omissions which they allow; some indulgences which they hold on to; and they are far from being universal, or uniform, or consistent in their religious services. Such persons resemble the people we read of in the second book of Kings,—the Babylonians who were sent to reside in Samaria;—"they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away"—(2 Kings 17:33) "they feared the Lord"—they thought he was the God of that country, and that they ought to show some respect to him, but at the same time, they paid greater respect to their own false deities, whom they had served in Babylon. Natural men resemble these very much in their religion; they pretend to fear and serve God, but at the same time are devoted to the service of idols; but this is a peculiarly displeasing attitude to him.

His language is, "My son, give me your heart;"(Proverbs 23:26) nor will he be content with only a part of that—he must have the whole heart. Hear how he resented this partial kind of spirit in the early church of Laodicea, "Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."(Revelation 3:15-16)

There are many who, at least occasionally, go to hear the Gospel preached; they admire and commend it; and it is to them, as to some of old, a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument;(Ezekiel 33:32) but it is added, "they hear what is said but they will not do it."(Ezekiel 33:30) They are pleased at church, and equally pleased at the theater and ballroom. The well-sung hymn delights them much; but they are equally delighted with vain songs. They are serious, and can perhaps weep under a moving sermon, and they can weep with equal devotion at a tragedy. They associate with the pious, and join with them in their public services; but their dress, their manners, their chosen companions—all proclaim that they are still "of the world;" such persons, assuredly, do not follow the Lord fully.

What is it then to follow him fully? The whole can be briefly expressed, in a few particulars. It is—to give full credit to the divine testimony—To pay a practical regard to all the ordinances of divine worship—To aim at the most perfect obedience to the command of God—To seek the fullest enjoyment of communion with him; and, To be zealous in promoting his cause in the world.

In the first place, it is to give full credit to the whole (not to a part only) of the divine testimony: And does not this testimony deserve and demand it?

God is a “God of truth;"(Isaiah 65:16) he cannot lie; he cannot deceive, or be deceived; but not to believe what he speaks, is to “make him a liar."(1 John 1:10) It is an awful crime, surely, to disbelieve the testimony of the God of truth; and finally to do so, is certain and everlasting ruin. Our first mother disbelieved the divine testimony, while she gave credit to the father of lies, and so she fell. In the same way also Israel fell in the wilderness; and so their posterity, many ages afterwards, filled up the measure of their iniquities.

The Gospel is not complicated; it demands "the obedience of faith,"(Romans 1:5) for "this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ,"(1 John 3:23) and it is written moreover, that "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,” (John 3:36) and “whoever does not believe is condemned already."(John 3:18) The Doctrines are divinely true, and are to be implicitly received; the Promises are to be considered as faithful, because he is faithful who has made them; and we should imitate Abraham, whose faith is peculiarly celebrated, because he did not consult with flesh and blood—he did not rest on probabilities, but fully believed that what God had promised he was able to perform; and if we are Christians indeed, we receive the divine word in the same way; we "hear the voice of the Son of God,"(John 5:25) and as the sheep of Christ, follow our divine Shepherd, wherever he goes.

Again, to follow the Lord fully includes a regard to all the divinely appointed Ordinances. This is the commendation of Zacharias and Elizabeth, that they both walked "blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord"(Luke 1:6)—among these prayer has an eminent place. "Praying at all times in the Spirit,” says the apostle, “with all prayer,"(Ephesians 6:18)—private prayer, domestic prayer, social prayer, pure prayer. Indeed they who pray most, follow the Lord the most fully.

Hearing the word is also our solemn duty, and our delightful privilege; it is a principal ordinance of God, both for the conversion of sinners and the building up of believers. Such likewise is the daily study of the holy Scriptures. If we follow the Lord fully,"the word of Christ will dwell in us richly,”(Colossians 3:16) and we will meditate on it day and night.

It should also be said—that, when possible, Attendance on the table of the Lord belongs to the duty of following the Lord fully. Many humble Christians, it may be, through a groundless timidity, too long neglect this holy ordinance; but it is both their fault and their misfortune; for doubtless they are great sufferers by this.

Now, to follow the Lord fully in all these things, is to engage in them with regard to the divine authority—with seriousness and sincerity, as in the presence of God, and not occasionally, merely as mood and convenience may dictate; but resolutely and constantly, that so we may, as it were, "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life."(Psalm 27:4)

In addition, following the Lord fully, includes obedience to the divine commands.—Believers are not, by the Gospel, released from their natural obligations to obedience; nothing can alter the right of God to command, nor the obligation of man to obey; and therefore no willful omission is to be pleaded for: no actual sin is to be indulged: self must be denied: the flesh crucified; the world opposed; nor are we to sit down contented with the lowest degrees of sanctification, but rather to aim at the highest.

Likewise, with regard to that fellowship and communion with God which is the high privilege of the saints, we are to “hunger and thirst for righteousness;"(Matthew 5:6) and to say with the Psalmist, "my soul clings to you;"(Psalm 63:8) and after all we must confess, with the Apostle, "Not that we have already obtained this or are already perfect,”(Philippians 3:12) but “we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."(Philippians 3:14)

And the last thing to add to this is, Zeal in promoting the cause of Christ in the world—He has a cause; his kingdom is to increase; and this is to be brought about by instruments; we are his instruments, and the present is a special and favorable time to be of use; and therefore they who would follow the Lord fully, must set their shoulders to the work, and do everything in their power to promote the cause and kingdom of God in this wicked world.

We move on to the last thing, which is, That those who follow the Lord fully will be honorably distinguished.

How remarkably favored was the upright and courageous Caleb! The promise in the text, made to him, was very remarkable; him “I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it;" and though the fulfillment of the promise was delayed for forty-five years, yet the Lord preserved him in remarkable health and strength, so that at the age of eighty-five he declared his health was as good as it was when he was forty, when he went out as a spy into the land: and if you turn to the 14th chapter of the Book of Joshua, you will find there that Caleb came forward to Joshua, the leader of the people, claiming the possession of the inheritance, "Behold,” he says, “the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me."(Joshua 14:10-11) O what a distinction was this, when among all the people who came out of Egypt, who were then twenty years old, two only reached the place, and were put in possession of the promise, all the rest (more than 600,000) fell in the wilderness, through unbelief.

As God distinguished Caleb, so will he distinguish all those who follow him fully. It is said of Enoch, before he was taken up to heaven, that he had this testimony, that he pleased God:(Hebrews 11:5) and it ought to be the ambition of every Christian so to please God by following him fully as Enoch did. Such persons also frequently receive the approbation of men, of all good men certainly, for they must heartily approve of following God fully; but even bad men will often commend them. Courage and consistency will gain the approbation of the world, and a wicked man has been known to say, "If I could believe as such a one does, I should act like him; indeed, I should surpass him."

—There is another advantage, and that is, The approbation of conscience. Happy they who can say with the apostle Paul, "Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity."(2 Corinthians 1:12)

Another advantage is, that many temptations are avoided. Peter followed his master "at a distance,"(Matthew 26:58) and fell miserably—John followed him closely, and he stood his ground. They are in the greatest danger of falling by temptation, who keep at the greatest distance from God. But, after all—the great thing is,

—Eternal glory will crown the whole; even as Caleb was put into possession of that rest, which from the power and faithfulness of God he expected to enjoy. Not that the glory of heaven can in any way be considered as something we deserve, or the wages of our faithfulness.—No; he that follows the Lord most fully, will be the most ready to say, "I have been an unprofitable servant;" yet the gracious recompense to which faith looks forward, will unquestionably be bestowed. The promise is, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."(Revelation 2:10) No man more than Paul ever magnified the grace of God; and yet, looking forward to death, he says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing."(2 Timothy 4:7-8)—As Caleb entered the promised land, so will the believer enter the heavenly Canaan, for not one word which a faithful God has spoken will fall to the ground.

From what has been said, we may learn, First, that the true character of every man is fully known to God; it is recorded in the book of his remembrance, and it will be published before an assembled world. It will then appear whether we followed God at all; whether we followed him partially; or whether we followed him fully.

Sadly, there are some who do not follow the Lord at all—they are indeed following—but it is "the multitude to do evil"—it is "the devices and desires of their own hearts:"(From The Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer.) but what did the Lord Jesus say when he was on earth? "Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."(Matthew 10:38) If we do not follow the Lord, indeed, if we do not follow him fully, we have no part nor lot in the matter; and if we do not follow him, where are we going? there is only one other way, and that is the broad way that leads to death and destruction.—O sinner, stop! stop! in this way—for there may be but a step between you and death.—May you turn, repent, and God will have mercy upon you.

Others, perhaps, follow the Lord only in the partial manner that has been described. And how dishonorable this is to God! Is his service then of such a nature that he does not deserve your whole heart? Consider what a loser you must be by this partial sort of conduct. How doubtful must it leave your state! Is not the state of your minds such that you cannot certainly say whether you are following the Lord or not? How uncomfortable is this condition!—many persons have religion enough to make them miserable, but not enough to make them happy.—Take a stand to end this partial type of following, but from this moment, resolve, in the strength of divine grace, to give up your whole selves to him—body, soul, and spirit, which is your reasonable service.

Finally—Let believers in Christ be animated and encouraged by the example of Caleb. When he got possession of the pleasant hill of Hebron, how delightfully would he review the way in which he had been led through the wilderness! Did he repent of his courage and perseverance? No; he would reflect with thankfulness on the power, goodness, and faithfulness of God! rejoicing not so much in his pleasant inheritance, as in the divine approval.

Let us then follow his example, and cheerfully obey the apostolic exhortation.—"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."(1 Corinthians 15:58)