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[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfreda, Georgia. We pray you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.

[0:15] Turn with me to Numbers chapter 14, if you would please. Numbers chapter 14. I had no idea I'd be preaching tonight. I came up here to relax and hear Brother Alston, and here I am in front of y'all.

[0:28] But that's alright. It doesn't matter. It's good to be here. I appreciate Brother Alston. I appreciate the ministry. The main thing I appreciate about him is he's helped my son immensely.

[0:40] He's really helped him focus on what he's going to do for God, and I thank God for that. We're going to start in Numbers and end up in Joshua. I preached it this morning down at Derek Lawrence's, and what I do is I get some shoes.

[0:55] I got my daddy's shoes, my mama's shoes. I got my shoes. I got my wife's shoes. I got Jim's shoes, his wife's, my girl, and her husband's shoes.

[1:07] And I preached on Caleb, and I'm going to preach on Caleb tonight. But what Caleb did was Caleb walked for God for years. Saw something that stayed in his mind and stayed in his heart, and nothing could get it out.

[1:22] And those shoes walked all the way through a dismal, dark, dying desert, and he got to the promised land. He got there.

[1:33] He got to the mountain, and when he was an old man at 85, which is 21 years older than I am, his focus and his desire and his treasure never left because he saw something.

[1:45] And I think in our heart as children of God, I know if I see something, I got it. And sometimes it takes me a while to see it and to get it.

[1:56] Once I've seen it and I got it, then I've got it. Not that smart, but once I get it, I got it. Caleb saw it as a young man. Go to Numbers chapter 13.

[2:09] Look at verse 1 and 2. We'll read a few verses together. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. You'll probably get there before I do. Numbers chapter 13.

[2:23] Look at verses 1. And said, The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel.

[2:36] Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. Now, if you skip over in chapter 13, to verse 22, they left.

[2:47] And they spied out the land. All the twelve tribes of Israel. Those twelve men, they went and they spied it out. But you get to verse 22. And it said, They ascended by the south and came unto Hebron.

[3:01] That mountain is mentioned twice in that one verse. When Canaan got there, he saw that mountain. And he saw that God had said, That land is yours.

[3:13] Verse 2 said, God said, Moses, Moses, you tell them, That's theirs. Just go spy it out. But it's theirs. Canaan believed that.

[3:25] Twelve went. Ten come back. They didn't believe it. Canaan and Joshua saw it. Because God told them it was theirs, they said, That's ours.

[3:35] That's mine. They believed that. And with all my heart, I want to serve God. I'll do all I can do for God. Every day of my life, every week of my life, I want to do all that God would have me to do.

[3:50] Caleb did that. Now, Caleb one time was a sinner. He was a slave in Egypt. And God delivered him out. Caleb saw the Red Sea split. He saw God bring them out.

[4:01] He saw God destroy the Egyptians. Caleb seen every bit of that. So Caleb knew what God could do. So when God told him that that land was his, He said, Amen, God.

[4:13] That land's mine, and I want it. Now, Caleb was an example to look at. He was an example. He was an example to his family.

[4:25] When they picked out twelve spies to go, Verse two says they were rulers among their tribe. He was a respected soldier. He was a responsible representative of Israel.

[4:37] And he responded with submission and said, If God wants me to go, then I'm going. The reason all those Indians over there, nobody witnessing to them, is because somebody is not responding to the call of God.

[4:52] You'll never convince me that my God can't have no better than that. You can't. I mean, I don't care. You can't. God's calling. And I'm afraid a lot of folks just flat-eight answering.

[5:05] He was an example to his family. Can I remind you dads? The other night, you're responsible to be an example to your families. My boy watched me.

[5:17] I watched my dad. My dad was a great big fellow like Jim. In fact, they looked just alike. And sometimes they act just alike, which is not that good.

[5:29] Dad was rough and ordinary. But I followed my father. I picked up a pair of boots this morning. I got them in the car. I followed those boots, rabbit hunting, squirrel hunting.

[5:43] We went frog digging together. I always wanted to be just like my daddy. Just like him. He was my example.

[5:54] My mama's a little bitty woman. About five foot three. Never raised her voice. Sweetest woman you'll ever meet in your life is my mama.

[6:05] My daddy was God in the house. Y'all think I'm crazy. When I got married, I did not know that wives talked back to their husband.

[6:17] I didn't know that. Honest to God. I thought the man said it. And that is it. Because when, listen, I ain't lying.

[6:29] Y'all think I'm crazy. And I'm not. Jim and them four, they'll buy a spark. When daddy said it, that's it. That's it. And I always want to be like my daddy.

[6:43] Some ways I am. Some ways I am. But he was my example. Your children are watching you. Your family is watching you.

[6:55] Dad, mom, they're watching you. Eli and Alan, they're watching Jim and all. They're watching. He was an example to his family.

[7:06] He was an example of faith. When God said, Caleb, that land's yours. Caleb says, well, praise God. That's mine. God gave it to me.

[7:17] He didn't worry about it, argue about it, think about it. He just accepted. That's mine. Because God gave it to me. And if we could do that, God could do something for all of us.

[7:32] He just, he saw what God was saying. He got out there looking around. He saw the grapes, the figs, and all of that. But he saw that mountain.

[7:42] And he saw the place that God was talking about. He saw the giants. He saw the walls that were as high as the sky. He saw all that. But in all that, he saw God.

[7:56] Those ten saw giants. He saw God. They saw problems. He saw promise. They saw foes, and he saw fruit.

[8:09] Because God said, that's yours. And he believed it. And he held on to it. Those twelve come back. Moses said, what did you say?

[8:23] Ten of them said, man, them giants are big. We're like grasshoppers in the Sodom. Because that's a lie, but they said it anyway. They said, we can't take it. But old Caleb believed it enough until he stood up and said, wait a minute.

[8:39] He said, I don't want to back up. And I don't want to go back. They were saying, let's go back and get the leeks and the garlic. Let's get us another leader and let's go back. Caleb says, uh-uh, I don't want to go back.

[8:52] I've seen something out there that I like and I want and I'm not going back. I don't like backing up. I'd rather go forward than back up because you've got to reclaim the same territory.

[9:08] He believed enough to speak. He wasn't an echo. He was a voice. He said, God said it was ours.

[9:18] He said, let's go get it. And in chapter 13 of Numbers, verse 30, He said, let's go at once and take it. He said, let's don't wait.

[9:30] Let's go do it now. Let's just get in there and get what God has promised us. He believed God's power because you see, he said that the enemy had no power.

[9:46] He said, God promised it. It's ours. He had seen the Red Sea part. I've never seen anything like that in my life.

[9:58] Never have I seen that in my life. But I've seen God's power. We're the family that come to our church. Lady got saved. Blood-headed, pretty girl, got right with God and her old husband.

[10:11] He'd come with her and his hair combed up, looked like a peacock. Grove a Budweiser beer truck. He'd come in and after three or four Sundays, he'd come down the aisle and got right with God.

[10:26] Drunk, smoked, dope, meaning the devil. God saved him. After a while, he said, preacher, I think God's called me to preach. He's been pastor of church 14 years.

[10:40] I've seen God's power. I've seen it. I could tell you a lot of other stuff. But I'd rather preach this. He said, the enemy has got no power. He said, the enemy has got no protection.

[10:54] I remember when God saved me. I was a lot like Jill. Hard-headed, broad-headed, stubborn, not real smart. Try to do everything my way.

[11:06] Listen, there's nobody at all but myself as it. Boy, God got me. One night, by myself, come home.

[11:19] Mama, I was going to Texas. Mama said, son, if you leave, you'll get killed. God will kill you. I said, I don't care what God does. So, Mama got to reading the Bible.

[11:29] All she did was reading the Bible. About 2 o'clock that morning, I found myself on my knees asking Jesus Christ to come in my heart and save me.

[11:40] Wasn't looking for God. Wasn't looking for nothing else. But God was looking for me. And I saw God's power. Caleb had seen God's power. And he said, these giants are nothing to my God.

[11:53] Let's get the land. God said, it's ours. Let's get it. He believed God's presence. He had no fear of those giants.

[12:04] None whatsoever. But I tell you what else. I was reading the other day and he didn't have any fear of them gricehoppers either. You know what them gricehoppers were? That was them other 10 Israelites.

[12:16] They wouldn't go over. They said, we're in their sight as gricehoppers. Sometimes folks we run around with, our friends, our peers, instead of pushing us forward, sometimes they'll yank us back.

[12:29] Caleb said, I ain't scared of them gricehoppers. They can say what they want to say. I'm going to believe God and we're gone. He was an example of faith. He was an example to his family and he was an example of faithfulness.

[12:42] They go back to, they go in the wilderness. They wander for 40 solid years. Dry, it's dusty, not a lot to drink and all they did was die and whine for 40 years.

[12:57] That's all. Gave Moses fits for 40 solid years. That's all. And Caleb and Joshua had stood up and said, let's go get it.

[13:11] But you know what they had to do? They had to wander with them other Israelites. Brother, it wasn't their fault. But they had to wander with them just because they went by. So there they are for 40 years.

[13:24] That aggravated the daylights out of me. But you know what old Caleb did? He kept his eyes and his heart fixed on that mountain. He said, I saw that place and that place is mine.

[13:38] God gave it to me and I wanted it. So when they was griping, they was moaning. You couldn't find Caleb because he was waiting on the day when God gave him that mountain.

[13:49] He was not one of the murmurers. Notice his estimation. Look at chapter number 14, chapters 14, 24. Notice what God said about him.

[14:01] God said, Caleb is my servant. He didn't say he's almost my servant. He's a pretty good servant. Caleb is my servant. Caleb has a different spirit.

[14:12] Caleb trusts me. He's true to me. He's triumphant and he's totally my servant. Caleb, I've got every bit of Caleb.

[14:23] Caleb wholly follows me. Wow. What a mouthful that God would say that about somebody. Man.

[14:35] I read Aaron B. Sure, those things he puts on Twitter. I don't answer nothing. I read a lot. He's one of my heroes. I love that boy. He sends out that prayer thing every Saturday.

[14:49] Boy, this last one was good about that Muslim getting right with God. I tell you what. He's following God every step or something would happen to him where he's at.

[15:02] That was Caleb. God said, he's my servant. Caleb wholly follows me. He's got a different spirit. And then God looked at him and I really like this.

[15:13] God said, Caleb, at land, I'm going to give you that. But then he said, your seed's going to possess it. You'll be there, but your seed is going to possess it.

[15:25] See, I'm sort of concerned about my boy. I've got a little girl that's much sweeter and a lot better looking than Jill. And I'm concerned about her.

[15:37] I love her to death just like Jill. I don't give her as much trouble as I do him, but that's the way it is. But I love her. I'm concerned about her. And I figure if daddy walks right best he can, God's going to smile on my little girl.

[15:54] She's going to walk with me. And God's going to smile on me. That's what God, I think, is saying to Caleb. He's saying, Caleb, you'll possess the land. Your seed will possess that thing.

[16:06] So God told Caleb what he thought of him. 40 years go by. Caleb's an old man. And they're in the promised land dividing up the land.

[16:19] Joshua chapter 14. Turn over there. We're out of numbers now. We're in Joshua. God has given them the land. Now they're going to divide it up.

[16:29] So they all get together. Joshua 14 verse 6. Out of the crowd steps a white-headed old fellow.

[16:43] 85 years old named Caleb. And he looks at Joshua which is his friend. They've been together all these years.

[16:55] And he looks at him and he says, Caleb or Joshua, I remember, do you remember back yonder when God promised us this land was ours?

[17:05] Do you remember that? See, you end successfully successfully by remembering God's promise. You end successfully by remembering God's promise.

[17:16] God's promises are always based on what God says. So he said, remember Joshua back yonder. God said that land was ours.

[17:27] He remembered God's promise and remembered that place. He said, Joshua, God said I was loyal and God said I can have that. He remembered in success by remembering and by recognizing that that land was God's.

[17:45] His strength was God's. He said I'm 85 I'm as strong now as I was then to go out and come in God has watched over me and God has kept me.

[17:59] Praise the Lord. But you end successfully by having a resolve. Look at verse 12. You know what this old man wanted?

[18:10] You know what he wanted? He said I want that mountain. He said I saw that thing 45 years ago and he said I want it.

[18:23] God said I can have it. God said it was mine and I want it. You got to keep on claiming God's promises. Where Jim's going ain't going to be easy.

[18:35] I'm satisfied probably not any mission feels where David and Chris and where brother Chris is going and all these other guys going and being and staying ain't none of them easy. They'll have to keep on claiming God's possession and keep on claiming God's promises have to.

[18:51] They'll have to keep on conquering their possession. Caleb's the only one that completely claimed his possession. Three giants were there. Caleb conquered every one of them with the giants took his mountain and was successful as an old man.

[19:09] But what tickled me the most thing about him is in chapter 15 of Joshua. He's up there in the mountains he is and here comes his daughter. Here she comes.

[19:22] She said Daddy you gave me some water down here. She says but Daddy I want something else. He lived long enough to see his daughter want the same thing from God that Daddy wanted.

[19:40] She had watched her Daddy over at walk through the desert. She had watched everybody else cry out and mow fuss cuss Moses and everybody else and she had watched Daddy follow God and she got a heart to follow God like Daddy had.

[19:58] My Daddy was a good man. Had to quit work to support his mama and three more children quitting seventh grade fought in the second world war fought in the Korean war and tried to raise me and my brother and mama.

[20:16] Somewhere they decided they was going to follow God. My brother is a preacher God seemed fit to call me to preach. My daughter married a logger and God called him to preach.

[20:30] My boy was preaching. I'm satisfied I got at least two grand youngins who's probably going to preach and I don't believe you can get any better than that and see your children want the same thing you want.

[20:46] Now he goes to India I'm going to cry a lot and I'm going to shout a lot because he could still be smoking dope. He could be still drinking Budweiser or he could be managing a bank and I'd rather my boy go to the mission field and manage a bank.

[21:05] Enough lost people to manage banks. We need missionaries. Where's your shoes going? What direction are your shoes taking?

[21:16] Dad? Mom? Young folks? Where's your shoes going? I made a lot of bad steps. Where's yours going? Boy, I'll tell you what, Daddy, if I wasn't straight, I'd straighten up.

[21:31] Mom, if I wasn't straight, I'd straighten up because somebody's following me. I was out visiting four or five months ago and a kid come to the door. I've known him for a long time.

[21:44] Got a little boy six years old. I said, Josh, I said, how about coming to church? I said, let's talk about coming to church. He said, preacher, he said, Jim, I'm not coming. You want to tell this six-year-old boy?

[21:56] He said, no, he didn't. He watched the dead. He's going to do the same thing. Need to straighten up. Need to walk right. Need to walk right.

[22:08] Where's your shoes going? Let's pray, Lord. We love you. Thank you, God, for your grace and your mercy. Thank you, God, for allowing us to be here tonight. Thank you, God, for this good church.

[22:20] Thank you, Lord, for the privilege to be here. God, I pray you take these scattered remarks that you've given us for tonight. God, I pray you touch somebody's heart here in this building.

[22:33] God, maybe some of them have seen something. God, some giants are in their way from them doing what God would have them to do. God, I pray tonight that, God, you'd show them that, God, you're much more powerful than any giant that they've ever seen.

[22:50] God, I love you tonight. I honor you. I praise you, God, for all you've done. In Jesus' name, amen. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Malfred, Georgia.

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