Being A Man Of God

FATHERS DAY 2004 Being a Man of God

A tramp one day stopped a man walking down the street. “Excuse me, sir,” said the tramp. “I know I’ve no business to stop you, and if I’m caught begging I’ll be the guest of the county for a bit: and I guess I’m not much to look at, but poverty don’t help a man look handsome, and there’s no use denying I didn’t live straight, sir, and I’ve paid the penalty to the full. But, by heaven sir. You don’t know the man I meant to be.”

Many of us hope and dream of making a difference. We dream of being the hero in our favorite movies. We dream of being a success. We dream of being used by God and making a lasting difference. My friend, I want you to know that being a man of God doesn’t happen by accident. This morning I would like us to look at the qualities required of a man of God.

- Read Numbers 13:1-2, 18-19, 26-33.

At this time, God had used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He had led them through the Red Sea, and then closed it behind them to destroy the army following them. Moses had led them to Mt. Sinai, where God gave them the 10 Commandments, the same commandments you see Moses holding on our capital building but which we can’t display in our schools. Now, Moses had led them to the Jordan River. On the other side of the river was their new home, the Promised Land they had dreamed about for centuries as they worked as slaves in Egypt.

Before God allowed them to enter the land, He told Moses to have 12 men, leaders of the 12 tribes, to go into the Promised Land as spies and to bring back a report. The 12 spies checked out the land for 40 days. When they came back, 10 of the leaders said the land was filled with giants. There was no way they could beat them. 2 of the men, Joshua and Caleb, were different. They told the people to trust God and God would give them the victory.

Now the questions facing us this morning, the questions your family and our country need so desperately for you to answer are, “What kind of man will you be?,” and “what makes the difference?”

I. A MAN OF GOD HAS A RESOURCE OTHERS IGNORE

- 14:24

Verse 24 says Caleb was different because he had a different spirit in him. Have you ever noticed how some people complain about every setback and difficulty that comes his or her way, while others seem to take it in stride and go on with life? Have you noticed how some people work and try to get ahead while others are always looking for an easier way a shortcut to success? What makes the difference? It’s what’s inside that makes the difference.

At my house, I have several flashlights. Some of them give off no light and others can fill the house with light. Why the difference? Some have dead batteries and others have charged ones. It’s what inside that makes the difference.

Think for a moment of 2 balloons. One filled with water. It sits on the ground, weighted down and unable to rise. The other, filled with helium, pulls at its cord. It is always straining to rise toward the heavens. It’s what’s inside that makes the difference. The same is true of men. The thing that makes the difference between a man always straining toward heaven, and the one, which is content to call this world his home, is the spirit that’s in him.

In order to be a man of God, you must have God’s Spirit in you. That’s why Jesus told Nicodemus so long ago, “You must be born again,” and why Paul commanded us to be filled with the Spirit. As long as you continue on, trying to do your best without accepting Jesus Christ, you will never be all you can be, you will never achieve all could have achieved, you will never stand where you could have stood, for the Holy Spirit is the resource of a Godly man. Let me ask you, “Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?”

A man of God has a resource others ignore, and a man of God acts differently than others act.

II. A MAN Of GOD ACTS DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS ACT

-Read 14:24 Verse 24 says that Caleb followed the Lord completely

1. You must follow the Lord Completely - There was no hypocrisy in Caleb. He was not willing to follow the Lord, only when things were safe, or only at church when people who believed like he did surrounded him. No! He followed the Lord completely.