[0:00] chapters that we read in Numbers 13 and 14. For our text tonight we'll look at chapter 14 at verse 24.
[0:16] We're going to look at Caleb tonight. The text is there in Numbers 14 at verse 24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went, and his seed shall possess it.
[0:41] Ask the Lord to lead us and bless us. O eternal God, we come again to thee this evening, asking that thou wouldest come. Give us light in thy word.
[0:53] Be presence us with the Holy Spirit. Lord, take away anything of us and come. And enlighten us in thy word. Lead us to the one who is greater than Caleb, the Saviour himself, Jesus Christ.
[1:10] O Lord, let him be preeminently before us this evening. Lead us and guide us. Help us. We ask all for Jesus' sake. There are times in Christian walk or Christian experience, whatever you like to call it, but I don't know if you feel like me.
[1:36] There used to be a saying that in Gaelic, I lent him. I need you lent him. He is now following. Remember that he was coming out to the means of grace, and he's following.
[1:50] And there are times when I feel that I really am not following. Do you ever feel that?
[2:02] You feel so often tied up with the world, with the things of the world, with worldly things, sometimes legitimate things.
[2:12] Maybe it's often legitimate things. You go about your work. You rise up in the morning. You may have a little worship.
[2:26] Meditate and go to the Lord for a little while. And before you know it, it's evening time. And you come again to the Lord before you lay down your head.
[2:40] Does that often happen to you? It happens to me. You sit down in the evening, and you say to yourself, what have I done today? What spiritual exercise have I performed today?
[2:56] And alas, you have to say, nothing. I really didn't do anything today. I was reading just two or three weeks ago, in Spurgeon's daily reading, and he was saying, the two most important things, in our holy religion, is the life of faith, and the walk of faith.
[3:22] And that is absolutely true, isn't it? If the life of faith was in us, and I'm speaking to myself, I'm not going to preach to you, I'm speaking about myself.
[3:36] if I had the life of faith, a living life of faith, I would have a walk of faith. And I would be going more and more, and more to a secret place, during the day, and spending time with Christ.
[3:53] And alas, I have to lament so often, and I lamented it here before, I'm sure, that I don't spend the time that I should with my Saviour.
[4:06] and it's to my detriment, to my spiritual detriment, and you can feel it yourselves, I'm sure. You're not what we should be.
[4:18] We're not walking as we should be. We do, we can realise, that the Lord has done good things for us, great things for us.
[4:31] He's worked in salvation for us, and he's worked in providence for us. And friends, our providences generally are very good. I have to be honest.
[4:43] Very good. The Lord is better to me than I deserve. He does that, but he's done it to me in salvation. How on earth sometimes do you think, did he ever choose you?
[4:55] I don't, sometimes I wonder so often, and I come sometimes, the end of a Thursday night, or a Wednesday night, and I say to myself, here I am again. I'll put it through the exercises, go through the process, finding myself self-often during a day or a week, in situations that I shouldn't really be in.
[5:16] Or situations that I should be in, and I'm not in. Well, in this chapter, we've got an individual, and it's said of him six times in scripture, that he followed the Lord fully.
[5:33] Look at it in the chapter, he followed me fully. That's Caleb. And that's the Lord saying it.
[5:44] He'll find out later on, that he'll say to himself, I have followed the Lord fully. But this is, this is the Lord saying it. He has a different spirit. Caleb was in the company, of the Israelites.
[5:57] He was in Egypt. He saw the plagues. He came out of Egypt with them. He went through the Red Sea. He saw the miracles of the Red Sea.
[6:09] So did the rest of them. He witnessed a lot of what happened in the wilderness. He saw what happened at Marah, at Elam, at Sinai.
[6:20] He saw that he would, he tasted of the manna from heaven. He tasted of all that the Lord had done. He saw the Lord's goodness to him. And above all, he heard the promise of God related by Moses to them.
[6:39] Go back to Exodus 3. You'll find it there. Moses, when he's at the bush, and he's related this to the Israelites coming back, because that's what he would have had to tell them.
[6:51] It's in Exodus chapter 3, at verse 7 and 8. And they're wonderful words. And the Lord said, this is him when he's speaking to the, the Lord is speaking to him out of the bush.
[7:06] He says, I am the Lord thy father, I am the God of thy father. He says in verse 6. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are Egypt.
[7:18] And I've heard, and I've heard their, this is, and I've heard their cry by reason of the taskmasters.
[7:29] For I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. And to bring them out of that land, into a land, and a large, and a large, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
[7:45] There was the promise. He heard that promise. It was relayed to him. And, he believed it. And here we have him.
[8:01] Having spent, and I said it, I think there's about two, two years, Buddha, because, the Lord tells him, later on, that he's, they're going to spend 40 years, in the wilderness.
[8:11] I think 38 have gone. And there were, there were, there were, there were two, had gone, and they were going to do another 38. So that was 40 years, in total. Or maybe 42.
[8:23] Some, some, some commentators reckon there's 38 plus 2, which was the 40. Some others say that it was 42. That is, the two that was done in the, in the wilderness, up to now.
[8:34] And here he is. And here they are, at the border, of the promised land. Now, if you take a wee map, and you look at it, you'll find that, it's down by the Dead Sea.
[8:46] They're a wee bit west, of the Dead Sea. They're a wee place, they're near Hebron. And here they are, down south of Hebron, a place called Kadesh Barnea, down in the wilderness, just south of, of the, of the promised land.
[8:59] They have come up, and round again. And here, Moses says to them, and we, we, we, we've got this, in Deuteronomy. I'm sorry for going through, but it's very good to see, a wee bit of Bible study, tonight.
[9:12] And, I think I intended, to do four points tonight, but I'm only going to get, past two, as usual. I'm, I'm seeing time, is, is running, but maybe we'll come back, at some time, to Caleb again.
[9:23] But if we don't, if we don't finish it. But anyway, if we go back to Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 1, this is where Moses, is, is, is giving a bit of history, to the children of Israel.
[9:35] He's telling them, eh, eh, he's, he's, he's telling them exactly, what has happened. He tells them all about it. So, in this chapter, you can read it for yourselves, later on. He says, he says to them here, they're at, they were at, he says, they were at.
[9:50] You are come, number two, verse 20. He says, you're come into the mountains, of the Amorites, which the Lord, our God, doth give unto us. Behold, the Lord thy God, hath set the land before thee, go up, and possess it.
[10:06] As the Lord God, of thy fathers, hath said unto thee, fear not, neither be discouraged. That's what Moses said to them. And we can pick it at that day. They're right out, on the borders of the, of the, of the, of Canaan, of the promised land.
[10:21] That it stopped. And he says to them, you're right, you're right. All we have is to now, take the land. Look what he says to them. Go up, and possess it.
[10:33] As the Lord God, of thy fathers, hath said unto thee, fear not, neither be discouraged. Look what they did. And ye came near unto me, every one of you, and said, look what they said.
[10:48] We will send men before us, and they shall, shall search out the land, and bring us word, again by what we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
[11:01] This, is nothing, but rebellion, folks. God had promised them, that he would go before them, this, Moses had said to them, go up now, possess it.
[11:14] But they came, they came, murmuring, and grumbling again, and rebelling on their state of, we're not going to go up, what we're going to do is, we're going to put in some spies, into the land.
[11:29] It was them that requested it. Now if you just read numbers, you say, the Lord said to go and put in spies. They requested it. They murmured, and moaned, and said, we better check out, the Lord.
[11:46] That's what they were doing. We better check out, that we can actually go. We better check. He said to them, go, go in. But no, we better do it our way.
[11:59] We'll do it our way. And our way was, we better go and check, what the land is like, and what the people are like, what the world cities are like, see if we can do it.
[12:10] And the Lord had said to them, all you have to do is, go, I'm with you. This is the time I wonder. I wondered, this afternoon, as I was scribbling this, and putting much of it into the bin as well, and I was wondering to myself, I wonder how Caleb felt.
[12:31] Because you notice that Moses chosen, we have a list of them there. Moses chose them, and we go back to chapter 13, and we've got the list there, that he took one of every one of the tribes, and Caleb was chosen, because Caleb was a trustworthy fellow, so was Joshua chosen, son of Nun.
[12:49] And there was others chosen as well, there was another 10 chosen, so they put in 12. I wonder, I wonder today, how did Caleb feel, when he knew, and he believed, and he took the promise of the Lord, I will bring you into the land.
[13:09] Moses says, here's the land, go, I wonder how Caleb felt. I would have said he was disappointed, heart disappointed, but he went in, and we find a little bit of it, what his report was, different to the other 10.
[13:24] This is a man, in whom there is a different spirit, because he's fully following the Lord. Notwithstanding, you shall not go up there, they were right at the border of the land, and they refused to go in, according to what Moses says, in Deuteronomy.
[13:43] They rebelled. Let's look at two things tonight, regarding Caleb. That's a wee bit of a distraction, but it's an introduction. We look at Caleb's commitment, and then we will look at Caleb's confidence.
[13:57] I was going to say Caleb's courage as well, and Caleb's conquest, but we'll leave that for a moment, then I won't have to look at the clock too much, don't. Caleb's commitment.
[14:10] As I said, six times we're told in scripture, that Caleb followed the Lord fully. Now, this term, fully followed the Lord, it means, apparently, and I'm not a student, but I check on it, and it seems, to close the gap.
[14:31] Fully following the Lord is to fully close the gap. It's a phrase used by a hunter, when he's hunting for prey, or when a hunter, you always see these television programs, you see on lions, or tigers, and you see them hunting their prey.
[14:49] You ever see them, there's a gazelle, or a group of gazelle. Notice, what, the hunter does, the tiger does, its eyes, are fixed, completely.
[15:02] The eyes are, almost bulging out of the head, and it's fixed on the prey, isn't it? It's fixed entirely on what he, so, what this curse is, that he hollow followed, his eyes were fixed, on his Lord.
[15:21] Completely taken up, with his Lord. That's the first thing. Now, if you look at the word Caleb, and a lot, a lot of commentators, say, look at what Caleb means, and Caleb apparently means two things.
[15:36] First of all, means dog, faithful dog. Now, sometimes that's a derisive term, isn't it? A derogatory term. But, not in this one. It means a faithful dog.
[15:47] Now, I started thinking about that, years ago, my late father, he was, he was a great sheep man, much bit better than I could ever be. He knew his sheep, and he had much more, than I had.
[16:01] And he had, he had always had a sheep dog, and he always had good sheep dogs. Now, if any of you, see sheep dogs working, and you've seen it yourselves, I'm just, it's something that I could watch all day.
[16:13] It's a sheep dog, a good sheep dog, what, what, going after sheep. But anyway, he would, he would, anytime he would go out for the moor, we were staying at Laxton, and he would go out, his sheep were up, up in Baravash, and away up, up close to Baravash Hills.
[16:27] And, he would take the dog, he would take the dog, he would go the dog out, he would get himself ready. Once he put on his socks, and his wellies, when he's put on his socks, for his wellies, the dog, I remember one dog we had, she was called Fly, and she was, would be sitting.
[16:42] Once he went, she looked at him, and she wouldn't take, her eyes off him. She was just fixed on him. And, she would be playing football with us, or whatever.
[16:54] She was away from the ball, straight to him. And, she would follow, he didn't have to say, come. Once the Wellingtons went on, she was down at his heel, and she followed him, right at his heel, every second, every, when he went out to these, and she would follow him, every time, when she, he would put her out, one call back, she would be back at heel.
[17:16] And, that was what, a faithful dog, does. It was faithful, to the master. It would follow, the master.
[17:27] Again, Caleb, his eyes, his thoughts, his everything, was taken up, with his Lord. That is what he is.
[17:39] He was, he was, I feel, he was faithful. So, there, but there's also another, another, another meaning for Caleb, is all heart.
[17:53] All heart. His heart, his all heart, was given over, to his Lord. That's, that's who he kept. You see, he wasn't half-hearted.
[18:05] He wasn't, lukewarm. He wasn't, insincere. Not like me. Like you.
[18:16] Lukewarm. No. He was all hearted. He followed the Lord, closely. He walked with God, like Enoch. Enoch walked with God.
[18:28] I think that, he was like Mary. Remember Mary, at, at, in Bethany. Remember when Martha, was serving. What was she doing? She was at the Saviour's feet, listening, to every syllable, that came out of his mouth.
[18:45] That's, what Caleb was doing. He was sitting, at the Lord's feet, at any opportunity, he was walking, closely, with his God, not afar off.
[18:57] Remember Peter? Remember Peter, when the Lord was, was arrested. What do we find about him? Matthew has it, clearly 26, but, he says, Peter followed, afar off.
[19:11] And friends, there are times, when you and I, if we're honest, are following afar off. We're following, not closely enough. We're following, afar off.
[19:23] But there was something else, about Caleb. And this is, when you see, read it is, because the Lord said of him here, he had, another, spirit, with him.
[19:36] Now what does it mean, by another spirit? Well, can we not say that, the children of Israel, had a spirit? And therefore, he had, another spirit.
[19:51] And it wasn't the spirit, of the children of Israel. Let's think about it. And let's just take, references from this chapter alone. What spirit did they have? Look at verse 2.
[20:02] Chapter 14, verse 2. Very first thing. And all the children of Israel, murmured.
[20:15] Murmured against Moses. They were a discontented people. They were murmuring. All that the Lord had done for them.
[20:27] He had taken them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. He had taken them close to himself. They had seen everything that he did. And yet, he murmured against Moses.
[20:39] What they were doing, was not murmuring against Moses. But they were murmuring against Moses' God. That's what they were doing. What else were they doing? Look at verse 3.
[20:50] What is this a spirit of?
[21:04] What did God say to them? I'll be with you. I'll take you into a land full of milk and honey. This was a spirit of unbelief. They did not believe that the Lord would do what he said he would do.
[21:18] Oh friends, so often, we're not believing what the Lord will do for us. Often, often, sometimes we're murmuring against him. What else was there?
[21:30] There was a spirit for, in verse 4. Look what they did. And they said one to another. Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt.
[21:44] A spirit of rebellion. They were rebelling against the Lord. Let us make a captain. Let us return to Egypt. We will not.
[21:55] They were almost saying there. We don't want the Lord to reign over us. Remember what they said to Jesus. Isn't it? Same thing. We will not have this man to reign over us.
[22:06] This is what they're saying. That, friends, the heart of men and women has never changed since the fall. Has it? If anything, it's getting, I feel, it's getting, I feel it's getting wickeder.
[22:21] Here they are, and they're saying exactly the same thing. We go back a few centuries, forward a few centuries, they're doing the same exactly to the Son of God. Here they are.
[22:32] They don't, they want rid of God. Go back, imagine. Right? Friends, do you ever feel that you want to get back to the world? Or put that, I shouldn't say, does it ever come into your mind sometimes?
[22:46] Maybe I can get back to the world. And if we're honest, it does come in sometimes. These are nothing but suggestions from the pit.
[22:57] Better for you to return to Egypt. Better for you in Egypt. Better for you in the world than sometimes what you're going through, what you're going through at the moment. You're wondering if you're one of God's people.
[23:08] You're wondering, you're questioning yourself. All friends question yourself, as much as you can. Fair enough, do it. But never take this one from, that it's better for you to go back into the world. Because it's not, they were wanting back to bondage.
[23:21] To, to, to, to, to be slaves. Look at, another, another one. There's another one. Verse 35. If anything, this, this, this is, this is, this is regret.
[23:34] It's going worse and worse, isn't it? Start with murmuring, unbelief, rebellion. And now we have, verse 35, what does the Lord say of? The Lord said, I will surely do it unto this, evil, congregation that are gathered together against, me.
[23:54] There was a spirit of evil. And it's from the Lord, that is saying this. They were an evil people, his own people, that he had taken out of Egypt.
[24:06] And he's, and because of, of their attitudes, because of their hearts, he was calling them. And then, there's this in it as well. And, and maybe we should go back to verse 30, chapter 31, 13, verse 32.
[24:20] Look what they did. Verse 32. And they brought up, an evil report. What were they? What were they? Liars. Look what they said.
[24:36] We searched, which, which, which they had searched, and to the children of Israel said, the land through which we have gone to search, it is a land, that eats up the inhabitants thereof.
[24:47] My, what an exaggeration. The land eats up, you know what they meant was, it was land, big pits, big coals and everything, that we could never even walk through.
[24:59] My, this was a land flowing with milk and honey. And yet, I think it's, you'll find it in there, that Caleb says, it was an excellent land, exceedingly, good land.
[25:10] And here they are, and look, it goes more. Land that eateth up the inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it, that men of, are giants. All of them. Every one of them. That's what they're telling.
[25:22] They're, they're putting, this is from the ten men, that were chosen, because of their, that, well why would they, why would they chose from the five of, it was obviously, Joshua, because he was, he was an outstanding, they chose Caleb.
[25:37] And these were people that were, probably outstanding men. And yet, they're saying that, it wasn't, the land was all giants. Not of, not of, not of, not of chance, that that would be the case.
[25:49] Maybe there was two or three giants. Sons of Anak. We find later on, with Goliath. He was, he was one of, one of these. But, they were, they were saying that, they're all, we, and there we saw the giants, as they say in verse 33, the sons of Anak, which came off the giants.
[26:06] And we were in our own side, as glasshoppers. And so we were in their side. So, they were saying, this is an, it's an impossibility. To sum it up, it was a spirit of disobedient unbelief.
[26:19] That's some, and substance of it all. After all the Lord had done from, took them out of, out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, journeyed with them, fire by, fire by night, cloud by day, protected them, healed their diseases, fed them, with angels' food.
[26:38] Friends, would you, would you, would you believe it? But friends, the heart of man is the same. Your heart is mine. My heart is the same. If we're honest with ourselves, if I'm honest with myself, and we have to be honest, before a God that knows us best, and we know ourselves, this is them, they rebelled.
[27:02] I wonder, I know, I shouldn't say I wonder, I see it, you see it. How do you think the Lord felt? Oh, friends, it must have grieved him, if we can use these words, and I use it, it must have grieved him to the heart, wasn't it?
[27:21] And you know, I was thinking again this afternoon, going back to John chapter 6, remember, the Saviour had been teaching, his disciples, that he was the bread of life.
[27:33] he was telling them that if, they would take, the bread of life, if they would eat, the bread of life, they would live forever. In other words, what he was saying to them was, if you follow me, if you eat my drink, eat my drink, and drink my words, if you accept me, if you see that in John chapter 6, he goes on, and he tells them, if you come to me, you'll never die.
[27:58] He was telling them about eternal life, and he said to them, but there is this, I should just go to John 6, he's there, and he said to them there, and they were, verse 66, yeah, they found it a hard saying, they couldn't believe him, that he was actually, what he said he was, and then they say, it says in verse 66, that John 6, 60, from that time, many of his disciples went back, went back, and they walked, no more with him, and then, we have, a saying, of Jesus, that I often go back to, and he said, he said, he was left, he was left with the 12, and I could see, the Savior standing there, you know, I can almost see tears, in his eyes, and he's saying to the disciples, will you also go away, will you also go away, because the heart of Christ, friends, is bigger, and larger, than any heart,
[29:10] I know, and he saw them, passing away, departing from him, who was the bread of life, he said to them, later on, when he was over Jerusalem, I remember, he looked down, over Jerusalem, he was looking at them, and he was seeing the people, going back, and he says to them there, oh, he says Jerusalem, Jerusalem, would that he would have come, how to gather you, as a hen, gathereth her wings, and he would not, and I get the feeling, that he would not, it was with tears, nothing else, and friends, he's saying it again, tonight, he's seeing you, he's seeing me, and he sees us sometimes, and we're not what we should be, and he's saying to you there, oh, what are you doing, he's saying like he did to Elijah, what are you doing here, he's saying that to me, sometimes it brings me, sometimes to tears, does it break your heart, sometimes, when you go to bed, and you think what you were, were I supposed to be, three or four in the morning, you cannot sleep, you say to yourself, what have I done, and yet he's weeping over, and I see, you can always see that here, our friends, we reject him so often, but you know, he still didn't, leave the children of Israel, did he, he still didn't, he still didn't, he wouldn't, he didn't want to leave his disciples, where they were, they want, they may, some of them may have thought, of going away from him, but he didn't, he didn't,
[31:05] I think of then again, what he had said on the cross, remember when, when, when they were putting, the nails into, putting him onto the cross, as they were banging the nails, and he said, father, forgive them, or they know not what they do, oh my, this is an overflowing, over abundant heart, that we had, this is what he is still saying, Caleb, he was going to keep Caleb, and Caleb's him, will I bring into the land, wherever he went, that's wherever he had gone, later on you'll find that, it was horrible, in particular, Caleb was, time was running, Caleb was committed, not only did he, did he have a different spirit, but, he had commitment, as well, you see, that in, you see that one, with, with, with them, in, in numbers, again, 13, at verse 30, verse 30, he's, he's, verse 30, of numbers, you see, that the, the, the, the children of us still, the other spies, are coming back, and they're telling them, that first of all, they're saying, verse 27, it was a good land, throw him with milk at honey, but then they have this, verse 28, nevertheless, the people be strong, that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great, here they are, they're making matters, as bad as they can, and moreover, we saw the children of Anak there, so, they're making as bad as they can, and they're bringing this all, and then, all the people are believing him, and then in verse 30, what does he do,
[32:46] Caleb, stilled the people, quiet, that's what he's, still means quiet, he quietened them, he stilled the people, and look, and this, and there he, this, look what he said, he stilled the people, now, it's amazing, he didn't argue, the fact that they were telling the lies, did you notice, he didn't say, he didn't say, you're telling them all of rubbish, look what he said, this is his commitment, in particular, let us, go up, he says, let us go up, at once, look at the, look what he's using, let us, go up, at once, and possess it, for, he says, we are, well able, to overcome it, we are well able, to overcome it, don't listen, to what you're hearing, let's go up, now, and possess it, don't wait another day, don't wait another minute, but let's do it, as Moses has told us, it's from the Lord, that we're told this, let's do it, now, the need, for, immediate, action, immediate action, why, because the Lord, was on their side, that's, what we're talking, that's, immediate action, the Lord, is on their side, look at Caleb's, commitment, let's look at, lastly, tonight,
[34:24] Caleb's confidence, Caleb, had no doubts, in God's promise, Abraham Lincoln, once said, in one of his speeches, commitment, is what, transforms, a promise, into reality, think of that, in relation, commitment, is what, transforms, a promise, into reality, now, the reality, of the situation, was, the promise, was, that if they had, taken, they were told, going to inherit the land, if they had done that, there and then, they would have got it, there and then, because the Lord, would be with them, it was a reality, they had, but, but they did not, have the commitment, so therefore, the reality, was not to be, they would have to go, back, back, there for the next, nearly 40 years, anyway, but Caleb, had this confidence,
[35:26] I was reading today, in Ligon, Duncan, in Gospel Coalition, I was looking, up, something about, covenant theology, I was trying to take, the covenant here, as a covenant, that God was making, with his people, in relation to the covenant, that Christ made, it's one, it's really one covenant, they call, the covenant, according to, Ligon, Duncan, in Gospel Coalition, he says, that it's a continuum, we talk about, the old covenant, and the new covenant, but that's another thing, a covenant is, it's the way you promise, and those are promise made, he says this, life with God, is not simply, about, what comes, after death, listen, it's not simply, what comes, after death, but also about, living with, and for him, now, it's not a thought, so life with God, not simply, about what he's got, what he promises, and, it would do as well, if we looked forward, to that, actually, but, it's also about, living with, and for him now,
[36:28] Caleb, was doing, exactly that, he was not only, looking to the promise, what was going to happen, before, what God had promised, but he was at that moment, working, he was, he was, he was, he was living, he was living with God, his life was living with, and for him, because of the promise, that was made, the promised land, the land flowing, with money, he was going, but, he had to work, at the time, and there, he was not, ashamed of his God, he was, he had total confidence, that what God, had promised, he would do, nothing, and no one, was going to change, that confidence, well, here we have them, and the people, having heard, the lies, as we say, of the other 10, spines, crying out, and shouting, and look at verse 6, in verse, in chapter 14, we have them, Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of them, that searched the land, rent their clothes, and we find them, that here, we have them here, and we have in verse 8, they say to them, speak, they speak to the company, of the children of Israel, if the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us, now look at, the confidence, it's not, he might, it's a, he will, bring us, into this land, it's an absolute, confident, will, and then he goes on, he goes on, and tells them, that, as we have there, the Lord delights, because then he will bring us, into the land, and give it, as a land, which flows with milk, and honey, and then he goes on, only rebel not ye, against the Lord, neither fear ye, the people of the land, for they are bread for us, no problem to us, their defense, is departed from them, and, the Lord, is with us, fear them not, this is the key, to the confidence, to the absolute confidence, of Caleb, the Lord, is for us, who can be against us, remember David, he was, he met the giant,
[38:34] Goliath, Goliath, as I said, was one of the sons of Anna, later on, and he says, this is what he says, when he, Goliath said to him, am I a dog, that you come, a small boy, like you, you come here, you've only got a sling, in your hand, what do you think I've got, this is what David said, I come to thee, in the Lord, of hosts, the God, of the armies, of Israel, whom thou hast denied, this day, will the Lord, deliver thee, into my hand, and I will smite thee, there was the confidence, of David, in the face, of Goliath, the giant, I will smite thee, I will, I will smite thee, the Lord, will deliver, me to, thee to me, and this was exactly, the same spirit, that, Caleb had, he was totally, and absolutely, convinced, that God, would be, was with them, and he would, bring them, into the land, of promise, into the land, flowing with milk, and honey,
[39:39] I'm going to finish, with a story, I was reading, a story recently, it's about, a captain, of a passenger ship, it was one time, it was traveling, towards Canada, in Newfoundland, and just outside, that's on, on the east coast, of Canada, it was going up, and there was a lot of fog, that night, when it was traveling, it would be about, the reason I'm saying this, would be about, the 19th, 19th century, or so, 1820, 1830 or so, it, and, the captain, was finding it difficult, to navigate, where he was going, so dense, that they could hardly, see anything, it was a Wednesday evening, the captain, was on the bridge, and he had been on the bridge, for 24 hours, nothing, seemed to be moving, they couldn't get through, with the fog, and then he, just as he was up, he got a tap, on the shoulder, and that man, came up to him, who was this man, but, a man called,
[40:51] George Muller, I don't know, if you've heard of, George Muller before, wonderful man, wonderful man, and he said to, captain, he says, I must be in Quebec, on Saturday afternoon, now that was Wednesday, he found it, it's a wee bit up the north, so it was a fair bit to travel, and then, the captain turned around to him, and he said, that's impossible, it's impossible, he says, I'm helpless, I've got nothing, I can never, we can never make our way, through this fog, and, so Muller says to him, let's just go down, to the chart room, before you have the maps, let's pray, so the captain, went down, the captain, who had wrote this, he thought this was a lunatic, on board the ship, this man, all the fog, he's wanting me to go down, and pray, and, and, he says, he says, he turned to him, on his way down, and he says, do you know, how dense the fog is, do you really understand, how dense the fog is, and Muller just turned to him, and he says, no,
[41:55] I don't, he says, my, my eye is not, on the density of the fog, he said, it's not the density, but on the living God, who controls the fog, and he says, the captain said, once in the chart room, Muller got down on his knees, and prayed, and this is what he said, oh Lord, he says, it is consistent, with thy will, if it is consistent, with thy will, please remove this fog, in five minutes, thou knowest the engagement, thou didst make for me, in Quebec, for Saturday, I believe, this engagement, is thy will, after Muller prayed, the captain, started to pray, and Muller stopped him, he says, you, he says, there's no use, of you praying, he says, look out, he says, the fog is gone, and the fog was gone, like that, this man, is amazing, this Muller,
[42:58] George Muller, if you know about him, he believed God, would provide, everything for him, if he prayed, if he asked it in faith, apparently, he had raised, over four million pounds, in the course of his life, at that time, for the orphanages, that he, he, he, he, formed, and he was responsible, for many as an orphanage, down the south of England, and he never asked a person, never asked a person, for a penny, he prayed, for everything, that he had, and this is what he wrote, about prayer, this is what I was getting to, it is not enough, to begin to pray, nor to pray, aright, nor is it enough, to continue, for a time in prayer, but we must, patiently, believingly, continue in prayer, until we obtain, an answer, and further, we have not only, to continue in prayer, until the end, but we have also, to believe, that God, does hear us, and he will, answer our prayers, most frequently, we fail, he says, in not, continuing, to pray, until the blessing, is obtained, and, in not expecting, the blessing, what he is getting, at there, is simply this, way to continue, in prayer, or friends, you're here tonight, and you're like me, and you're saying,
[44:28] I really don't have a prayer, I really don't, that, you've got family, and you've got brothers, or sisters, parents, or nieces, or nephews, from the village, or whoever, take them, to the Lord, in prayer, and continue, continue, with them, don't, give up, continue, in prayer, for them, and friends, it's not, that we're saying, that it's a new prayer, that you'll get it, but, we have to believe, that, oh God, will answer us, if not friends, we can't have any hope, what hope have we got, and I continue, I've got three children, and I've got eight grandchildren, and I continually, all continually, bring them to a throne of grace, morning, and evening, and afternoon, never, ever, give up friends, don't, whatever you do, and don't, whatever you do, give up on yourselves either, because you must continue, to go to the Lord, and pray, that he will, reignite us, revive us, revive us, in our souls, and do like, what Muller says to do, pray, and pray, and continue to pray, may the Lord bless, our meeting, tonight, we'll, conclude, by singing again, in Psalm 25,
[46:02] Psalm 25, Psalm 25, Psalm 25, at verse 8, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, sinners, will instruct, in ways, that they should go, imagine, that's what we're just saying, it's good, the meek, the meek, the meek, and lowly, he will guide, and judgment, just all, to meek, and poor, afflicted ones, he'll clearly, teach his way, the whole paths, of the Lord, our God, are truth, and mercy sure, to such, as keep his covenant, and testimony is pure, we'll conclude, by these three verses, the Lord, is good, and gracious, the Lord, is good, and gracious, he abides, the stone, the earth, our sin andju经, will instruct, in ways, that they should go, than he can.
[47:34] Only he will guide, In just and just nowhere To meet young good afflated ones He clearly teaches where The whole paths of the Lord our God At true and mercy true To such as keep His crown in hand
[48:34] And tested on His truth O Lord, we bless Thee that Thou art indeed what Thou dost say, good and gracious.
[48:51] If it were not so, we would not be here. But we bless Thee O Lord for Thy goodness to us. We ask that You would forgive us what we brought into this meditation this evening that was of us.
[49:03] And we would ask that in Thine infinite and good way, I will bless Thy word to each one of us. And that we would come again to Thee, Acknowledging our need of Thee above everything else.
[49:16] And bless us and bless our families. Bless all connected with us, eternal God. Shine Thy light into our hearts. Forgive our sins. And we ask it for Jesus' sake.
[49:27] Amen. . . . .
[49:41] . . .