Faith of a Different Spirit (2)

The Account of Caleb

The following verses teach us something about what it means to be a Christian, they teach us what God desires us to be if you are a believer:

Psalm 4:3 “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.”

2 Corinthians 6:17–18 “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.””

(ASK) Can anyone tell me what the Bible is trying to teach us?

Supposed I was walking down the highway and I decided to walk across I-90 without paying attention and I was hit by a semi-truck and somehow survived. If I looked at myself in the mirror, I would look drastically different than I did before I walked across I-90, right?

The Bible teaches us that if we are Christians then our lives should look very different from the world. Christians are supposed to be different—to live, act, talk, think, respond, and love different than the rest of the world. The word the Bible uses to teach us this is called “sanctification,” which means to be set apart

The Bible also tells us that in order for us to be set apart from the world, we must have a different spirit, a spirit which is not our spirit, rather a spirit which we partake of. This spirit is not something a person is born with, nor is it a spirit we can earn or merit. It’s God’s spirit—a divine spirit—one which is given to a person when they surrender their lives to Jesus Christ:

2 Peter 1:4 “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

When a person is saved, when the become a follower of Christ, this Spirit—which we know is the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in a person’s heart. We belong to God, we cannot be removed from the hands of God—our salvation is assured and we cannot lose this position, nor the Spirit

But what about the everyday life of a believer (a Christian)? What about living day to day with all the temptations & trials, all the decisions, and amidst all the peer pressure and influences of the world around us and the people around us?

How do we “live different,” now that we’ve been “made different?

This morning we will look at Caleb and see an example of this “different” spirt:

Who was Caleb?

He was born in captivity (Egypt) and forced to work and as a slave under Pharaoh.

He witnessed the plagues and torture of his fellow people,

He journeyed the miles and miles in the wilderness;

He watched as his people constructed a golden calf waiting for Moses;

He traveled from Mount Sinai to the brink of the promised land, then was sent spying out Canaan;

He then had to endure the wandering of 40 years with the generation that would never see the promised land, b/c Israel operated out of fear rather than trust:

Who were the first generation of Israelites and what happened to them?

They were those who were in bondage and slavery in Egypt, whom God rescued through Moses (10 plagues and the Red Sea)

They were those who entered the wilderness and wandered for 40 years

They were those who were not allowed to enter the promised land, b/c they grumbled and complained and were disobedient

However, the Bible tells us that Caleb was one of only two Israelites from the 1st generation of Israelites who would enter the promised land. Why? What was so different about Caleb that God would allow him to enter the promised land and then to inherit a portion of it later in in life?

Numbers 14:24 “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.”

In Caleb’s response to the Israelites and their fear over entering the promised land in Numbers 13:30, we can learn three valuable lessons about living differently in this world

“But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.””

——-

I. A Person with a Different Spirit lives with faith, not fear or forgetfulness:

Numbers 13:27-28 “Then they told him, 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.”

Israel allowed fear to cripple them and influence them. How? Because, they failed to remember and recall all that God had done and all that God had promised them; listen to what fear and forgetfulness led them to, it led them to

Focus more on the size of the enemy rather than the size of the Lord (Numbers 13:28)

Focus more on the strength of the enemy rather than the strength of the Lord (Numbers 13:31)

Influence others to operate in fear and forgetfulness (Numbers 13:32)

Desire bondage back in Egypt (Numbers 14:2-3)

Desire to harm others—stoning Moses, Caleb, and Joshua—(Numbers 14:10)

Caleb, however, possessed a different spirit, one that operated—not out of fear and forgetfulness, but of faith and trust in God; Caleb’s faith led him to

Focus more on the size of the Lord, not the size of the enemy

Focus more on the strength of the Lord, not the strength of the enemy

Focus more on the deliverance God had promised, rather than the being in bondage

Focus more on honoring the Lord, rather than honoring himself

Caleb’s attitude and actions, as evidenced in over 30 different verses in the O/T, showed his fearless faith and confidence in God

(CONNECTION to YOU and ME)

Let me start by saying this: Fear maybe the greatest barrier—the greatest threat to living a Christian life

The Bible mentions the phrase, “do not be afraid,” somewhere in the ballpark of 365 times; indicating “fear” is the constant threat that a person faces

Fear keeps us from confessing our sin, teaching us rather to hide them (Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:10)

Fear keeps us from stepping into God has called you and I to be (Gideon in the Book of Judges)

Fear keeps us from knowing the purpose of our trials and temptations

Fear, as seen here in Numbers, keeps us from being obedient to God’s Word

How do we deal with “fear”

It starts with belief (something Jesus tells Jairus, amidst other’s telling him it wasn’t worth going to Jesus)

Mark 5:36 “But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.””

It continues with remembering God’s Word and what His Word teaches

Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.””

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.””

It involves both rejoicing and prayer

Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The Bible talks about “remembering God,” some 352 times (and when combined other variations the number jumps to 550); indicating the importance of not forgetting God, all He has done, and all He has promised;

When we lose sight of all of this, the world becomes bigger and God becomes smaller

When we lose sight of all of this, we begin to look more like the world and less like Jesus

When we lose sight of all of this, we begin to depend on our selves more than faith

Leads our eyes away from Jesus and more towards the world

Why is faith so important?

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Forgetfulness has a remedy

The Bible warns us

Not to forget our first love

(Revelation 2:4 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” ); our intimate walk with Jesus

Hold fast to what the Bible teaches

(Deuteronomy 6:4–9 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”)

A person with a “Different Spirit”, then, is a person who has spirit which has this, “wild faith,” even when others don’t.

II. Faith of a Different Spirit is obedient, (1) even those around us don’t and (2) when it seems to not make sense

(CONTEXT)

Israel—Despite all God had done and what God had promised , chose disobedience

Numbers 13:31–33 “Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.””

Caleb—Because of all God had done and all that God had promised, chose obedience

(CONNECTION to YOU and ME)

Obedience to God and HIs Word is the demonstrative part of our faith, it what give feet to our faith; in fact, faith apart from works, as James says, “is dead,”

James 2:14–18 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Obedience to God and His Words is to know what is right and follow through with it, b/c to fail to do right is sin

James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Obedience to God and His Word knows, “what an audience of one is.”

There will be times when following God will not be popular among your peers

There will be times when following God will not make sense to other people

Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

III. Faith of a Different spirit isn’t afraid to face the enemy (trials/temptations)

Numbers 13:30 “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.””)

(Culture/Context)-

The Israelites knew what was in front of them

They would be living in a land given to them by God, where they would know His provision and protection

They would be living in a land where God would eventually dwell with them

The Israelites knew all of this—so what happened?

What they saw (v.28)

They saw impossible

They saw, “it’s too good to be true,”

They saw, “this is great, but it’s gonna be too hard/cost to much

The Israelites again, in the fear, saw

From their perspective, not God’s perspective and in doing so,

They believed the wilderness would be more comfortable

They wanted a different way,

They didn’t want to fight,

They wanted deliverance without having to fight and overcome;

Fear had consumed them to the point, they had no desire to fight, no desire to trust God, no desire to remember all that God had done or them; no desire to remember that God had promised them victory

Caleb saw from God’s perspective

What he saw, was what the others didn’t see, refused to see, or couldn’t see. He chose to see Canaan not as an obstacle, but an opportunity.

An opportunity to trust God and see Him work.

To witness and experience God deliver him from his enemies…this was a different spirit in Caleb; Caleb was refusing to ignore the enemy:

He knew the enemy was strong,

He knew the enemy was numerous and all over; but

He knew and trusted that God…our God…is bigger…

He knew and trusted that God was and is able to overcome any enemy, no matter how big, numerous, dangerous, or entrenched.

(You and I)

Proof of a different spirit is:

The willingness and courage to trust God confront your sin—

The willingness and courage to trust God and confront the trials/temptations in life

The willingness and courage to trust God and endure suffering/persecution in life

Proof of a different spirit is seen in how you approach confession and repentance

What confession and repentance

Repentance

Confession

To agree with what God says about your sin requires you to deny you don’t have a sin problem

To agree with what God says about Christ—that He’s the ONLY WAY-requires that you deny that

In way not much different than the Israelites, we also see what lies in front of us.

An enemy…our sin

Our weaknesses

Our culture and it’s deceit/distractions/temptations

The ups and downs we are going to face as Christians

And, so much like the Israelites, we look at the enemy that is our sin and the battles we are sure to face, and we tend lose the desire to fight. We resort to the belief that says:

Not worth what I have to give up-Jesus says it’s worth it; you’re worth it

I am too afraid of what it takes to surrender-Jesus says don’t be afraid, only believe.”

I’ve done too much wrong, lived (or living) in too much sin for forgiveness-Jesus disagrees and the cross declares your sin is not too much for Him to cleanse.

There’s no way God could deliver me from an enemy so strong-The cross says otherwise

We say, “impossible,” or, “it’s too good to be true,” or, “this is great, but it’s gonna be too hard/cost to much

You need to have the intentionality of Caleb—you need to see things through the lens of what the Bible teaches, that

What He promises you, if you will trust and obey, is salvation and freedom.

The Lord has gone ahead of you and has prepared the way for you; to have victory and rest over you enemy…the cross of Christ!

We aren’t waiting for the cross, we look back. The way has been prepared for you. All that is needed is your surrender to Jesus.

The Lord has preserved you to this point, to this day and moment, to give you the opportunity to choose Him, to choose His son and be adopted into the family of God

IV. Like Caleb, having a different spirit is to have an obedient spirit.

Joshua 14:7-8 “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.”

(Context and Culture)

Israelites-left wandering in the desert for 40 years, ultimately not able/allowed/permitted to see or live in the promised land

Caleb-it’s easy to forget that Caleb (and Joshua) had to live and wander with them

Caleb’s obedience was not conditional; it was steadfast (not perfect, but steadfast)

He could have folded and become like the rest of the Israelites—Griping, complaining, desiring the enemies provision, over God’s b/c it was easier

He had every reason to disobey and the world would have been ok with it

But Caleb’s obedience wasn’t to the rest of Israel—it was to God!

The people couldn’t enter the promised land b/c of their lack of frustration; they had already wandered about for decades and now they were going to have to wander 40 years more

But Caleb knew he had every reason to be obedient.

The man He served under died without ever stepping foot in the promised land—Moses.

Caleb’s obedience wasn’t to man, it was to God

(You and I)

Like Caleb, our obedience should not be conditional

We could fold and become like the rest of the world

We could choose to compromise our obedience b/c of circumstances in our lives (our fault or not)

We could choose to pick and choose what or who we are obedient too

Like Caleb, our obedience should be seen in seasons of blessing and in seasons of trials

Yet obedience can be neglected when,

“things are going well.”

“only when things get hard.”

“it disrupts my comfort.”

Biblical obedience is obedience regardless of the season of life you are in

Obedience when things are well—strengthens and prepares you

Obedience when trials come-refines, purifies, and qualifies your faith

REGARDLESS of the circumstance (season of grace or of trials), obedience is done to glorify and honor God

This type of obedience is an obedience of someone with a different spirit

III. Like Caleb, a different spirit means, your faith must be a consistent faith

(Joshua 14:7-8) “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back world to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.”

(Caleb)-Caleb’s consistent faith was visible despite those around him abandoning/ignoring/influencing/rebelling against, God.

Caleb’s brethren, his own people failed to believe in God’s promises

(You and I)-Your faith should be as Caleb’s; visible despite the world around you; and as a follower of Jesus, suffering/hardship/trials should be expected

1 Peter 1:6-10 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,”

1 Peter 5:8-10 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

What is it that (1) belief, (2) confrontation of sin, (3) obedience, and (4) consistent faith will lead you to?

Salvation-b/c a heart devoted to these things, is a heart fully/wholly surrendered to God.

More of Himself-Psalm 37:4

The greatest gift we could ever receive from God, first being salvation/adoption, is more of Himself

Worship Team

If we could boil Caleb’s faith down to three statements, it would be these:

He faith was fearless—b/c He witnessed all that God had done from the Exodus up to this point—Caleb’s fearless faith reminds us of Paul’s Word’s in Romans 8.

Romans 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

His faith was authentic b/c of his obedience to God and His Word

James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

His faith was consistent despite living among a world and people set against God and His promises.

Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

What I desire for you is what God desires for you:

To see hearts surrendered to Jesus

To see sin/idols/strongholds laid at the foot of the cross

To see you live with a “different spirit.”

To see your faith grow in Jesus, so you can live boldly and confidently in today’s culture and world.

We tend to see what stands in our way more than we the one Who’s made the way; and when we focus more on what stands in our way (sin), we will adopt the same attitude of the 8 spies and the whole of Israel (minus Caleb and Joshua)...fear; and fear says:

Your sin is too big/so much, God can’t forgive you,

The sin you are stuck in is too much to give up or fight against…

We want salvation, but we want it another way, rather than what the Bible teaches.

To have salvation and to have a different spirit we must imitate Caleb, who had

A spirit that trusted God, not his flesh

A spirit that believed in the promise of God, to deliver Him (the cross is that promise for you).

A spirit that rebelled against naysayers, rebelled against the other spies who were operating in fear rather than operating in faith…

A spirit that rebelled against the enemy

A spirit that was obedient to God, regardless of situations or circumstances

A spirit that had consistent faith.

If right now, I asked you to look into the mirror, would you see someone who acts/talksBy a show of hands, how many here have tried to overcome their sin/struggles/trials on their own?