Follow the Lord Fully, by Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

Follow the Lord Fully, by Robert Murray M'Cheyne. 1842. Sermon LXXX 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. — Numbers xiv. 24 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. — Numbers 14:6-9 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. — Numbers 32:11-12 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; — Ephesians 6:6 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; — Colossians 3:23 The children of Israel lay encamped below Mount Sinai for about a year, during which time God gave them the law and the tabernacle. Moving across the desert with the pillar-cloud before them, they soon came to Kadesh-barnea, in the edge of the desert, and on the border of the promised land. Here, by God's direction, they sent twelve spies to search the land, and to bring back word "whether the people were strong or weak, few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds."-Numb. xiii., 18, 19. Accordingly the spies searched the land from one end to another, going up by the rocky dells of Hebron, and returning by the pleasant Vale of Eschol. After forty days they returned, bearing a cluster of grapes between two upon a staff; also some pomegranates and some figs. And as they stood in the midst of assembled Israel, all eyes rested on them all ears were open to hear their report. The land was good, they said, flowing with milk and honey; but the people were strong, and their cities walled, and very great. Two men alone of the twelve stood boldly forward, Caleb and Joshua; and Caleb said, "Let us go up at once, for we are well able to overcome it." But the people wept that night, and bade stone Caleb with stones.-Numb. xiv., 10. And God was angry, and said the congregation should die in the wilderness. "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." Doctrine. It is a blessed thing to follow the Lord fully. I. What it is to follow the Lord fully. 1. To follow Christ all our days. This was the way with Caleb; he followed the Lord all his days-he followed him fully. We find it recorded of him, forty years after, when he was an old man of eighty-five, that "he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel." He did not follow God for a time, or by fits and starts, but all his days-he followed him fully. (1.) There are many like Lot's wife, who flee out of Sodom for a while. She was greatly alarmed the angels laid hands upon her-she heard the words of warning, and fled for a time; but she soon gave up-she looked back, and became a pillar of salt. So, many are awakened and flee for their life; they weep; pray; seek salvation; but they do not hold out-they are allured by an old companion or a favorite lust, and so they draw back. (2.) Many are like those in John vi.: They follow Jesus for a time, and are called his disciples; they hear the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth; but by and by some discovery of doctrine or duty is made which offends them: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with Jesus." It is those who never go back that follow him fully. (3.) Many are like the Galatians. When Paul first preached to them, they received him "as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus." They spoke of the blessedness of being in Christ, and the great salvation. https://takeupcross.com takeupcross