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All right, we are here in Numbers chapter 13. We're continuing our series on the alphabet of characteristics. We're getting toward the end. There's five letters left. We're going to cover two of them here today. For the letter V, we're looking at valiance or being a valiant person. The word valiant means someone who has courage, someone who has bravery, or we'd say matapangsha, someone who's filled full of bravery and courage, a very valiant person. When I was thinking about characters in the Bible that fit being valiant, the person who came to my mind was Caleb. When you're reading the Bible, Caleb is sort of an unsung hero because he's really the guy right there with Joshua. We kind of forget about Caleb because there's a book named after Joshua, but Caleb is a great man in the Bible. You never see him doing anything wrong in the Word of God, but you see him filled full of bravery and courage. He's a very valiant man. In this story in Numbers chapter 13, God has promised them the promised land, but what he's doing is sending out 12 spies ahead of time to check out the land. What Moses is doing is sending out 12 people, one from every tribe. The assumption is every one of these men is valiant, every one of these men has courage, every one of these men can be trusted, and I'm going to send these 12 guys out to test out the land. They're going to come back, and we're all going to be on the same page. We're going to get encouraged. It's really about setting just the plan, and he sends out 12 men. What takes place? Ten of them are a bunch of bozos. Ten go out, and then they end up being afraid. Ten of them come back, and they're just like, well, we can't do this. Then you've got Joshua and you've got Caleb that are filled full of valiance, and they have courage. So you've got basically Joshua and Caleb versus these other 10 men. When it comes to being valiant, point number one, if you're going to be a valiant person, if you're going to be filled full of courage, you must be willing to stand against the majority. You must be willing to go against the popular opinion or the route that everybody else is going. Notice this story in verse 25. Numbers 13, verse 25, and they returned from searching of the land after 40 days, and they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel onto the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh and brought back word onto them and onto all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, we came unto the land whither thou sinnedest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. So they come back, and they say, yeah, it's a great land. It's got lots of milk. It's got lots of honey. What's significant about milk and honey? Well, they're very precious commodities. I mean, even in our modern day with honey, I mean, I think everybody agrees honey tastes amazing. It's like a miracle food, and it's incredibly expensive. Why is it that people don't eat honey more often? Because it costs a lot of money. It's a very precious commodity. Now, milk in our modern day, you can go to the grocery store and get milk for a relatively cheap price, but it's really not the same quality of milk as just like a perfectly natural, organic kind of milk. And this is why in a lot of countries they will often worship cows, because they produce very valuable milk. And milk is something that's a very precious commodity as well. And he's like, this is a land flowing with milk and honey, is what they say. So it's a great land. They admit that. They talk about the fruit. I mean, they had grapes and pomegranates and figs. I mean, it's like, what a wonderful land that God has promised them. Verse 28, Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. Now, these 12 men are sent out, and I don't know if on the way back the other 10 men are murmuring and complaining, and Caleb and Joshua are ready for it or whatever if they're arguing on the way back. But these 10 men come in, and there's 10 of them. They're getting the report from both people, and the 10 are complaining about the land. There's big people there. We're not going to be able to conquer it. We can't get it. And then Caleb is confronted with it, and then there's a crowd of people you've got to realize. They're talking to a group of people, not just Moses. And notice what Caleb says here in verse 10, verse 30, I should say. Numbers 13, verse 30, And Caleb stilled the people before Moses. What does that mean, to still the people? It means to get them to stop. He stopped the people. He basically just interrupts them, and he stops the people and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. And I mean, just simple words from Caleb. He doesn't have to have this long speech. He's like, Hey, you idiots, let's just go up and take it. And he's trying to rally up everybody and encourage them. Right? It'd be like, for example, if we're going solo and then there's like a group of people says, We can't do it. We're not going to get anybody saved. And somebody filled full of spirits said, Hey, let's do it at once. Let's go. We can do it. We can get people saved. And then these 10 people, though, they're complaining about the land. And what is Caleb doing? He is standing up against the majority. Isn't that what he's doing? And if you're going to be someone that's filled full of valiance, if you're going to be a valiant person filled full of courage and bravery, you must be willing to stand against the majority. I mean, look, if you go along with the majority, that's not really bravery, because that's the easy route. But if you're going to be brave, if you're going to be filled full of valiance, you must be willing to stand against the majority. Go in your Bible to 1 Kings 22. 1 Kings chapter 22. As you return to that, let me just read you. The Bible says, Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. Why would you follow a multitude to do evil? Well, because when everybody's doing what's wrong, and that's the popular opinion, and that's the peer pressure that exists, it's very easy to kind of just go along with everybody else. You know, many stories you can think of in the Bible, like, I don't personally believe that every one of Joseph's brothers was really in on it to first kill them and then sell them into slavers, what they go with. But it's kind of like, well, wait a minute, that's kind of the crowd, that's what they're doing, kind of just go along with the ride. Because you must be willing to stand against the majority if you're filled full of courage, and look, most people in 2024 have no courage, they have no bravery, they're unwilling to stand up for what's right. They might believe what's right, but they're not willing to stand against what's wrong. They want to just kind of play this inside position where they don't offend anybody. But if you're filled full of courage, you're willing to stand up against the majority. The Bible tells us not to make friendship with the world because you become at enmity with God. And if your goal in life is to get along with everybody, okay, let me explain to you one person that you are now an enemy of, you're an enemy of God if you make friendship with the world. You must be willing to stand up against the majority. 1 Kings 22, let me show you an example of this. 1 Kings 22, verse 10. 1 Kings 22, verse 10. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes and avoided place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now, when it says all the prophets, I want you to realize this doesn't mean that all the prophets are good, okay? These are all the prophets, and a lot of them are just bad. They're false prophets. It would be like today if all the pastors are saying something. That doesn't mean that they're all spirit-filled men of God. It doesn't even necessarily mean in today's world that they're all men, right? And so all the prophets are prophesying. That doesn't mean that they're all good, though. It just means all the people that are these religious leaders are saying something. And it says in verse 11, And Zedekiah the son of Canana made him horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. You see, it's very easy to prophesy and say, hey, God's gonna give us this. He's gonna deliver it into our hands. It'd be a lot more difficult to say, well, the opposite's gonna take place. God's blessing's not upon us. We're gonna be delivered. We're gonna be destroyed. So they say what's popular, and notice the reaction in verse 13 because there's another prophet we have to hear from. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth. He's saying, hey, we're in one accord. We're on the same page. You're all declaring something good. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good. He's like, pretty please, Micaiah, can you just say something nice? We're all on the same page. We're all together in this. Can you just say something nice? Yeah, in today's world, when you stand up against the majority, they will claim that you're breaking unity because this group of people are in one accord, so to speak, in an ungodly way. And when we actually stand up and say what the Bible says, people might say, well, you're breaking unity. Yeah, but here's the thing. If you remember when I preached through doctrines, I said that doctrine divides, but it also does what? It unites. Our church is united. We're on the same page. We know what we believe. You say, well, you know, you're causing division. Well, not within our church because we're all on board with all these things. We all believe in soul winning. We all believe in hard preaching. We all believe in Bible reading. We all think the Catholic church is false. We all think the Hindus are false. We're on the same page at our church. We're united. But this group of people that's united is united in an ungodly way. And they're saying, pretty please, Micaiah, please, can you just say something nice? Just for once, be a nice guy and don't say anything controversial. And Micaiah said, as the Lord liveth what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. Look, I don't know for sure, but I hope if I lived during this time period, this messenger would say basically the same words to me that he said to Micaiah, please, pastor Sucky, pretty please, just say something nice. Why do you always have to be controversial? Why do you always have to go against the crowd? Why can't you just be united, right? And this is the sort of idea that people have today. Why can't you just say what every other pastor is saying? And I would say, you know, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. I'll preach what the word of God says, whether it's popular or whether it's not popular, right? Turn your Bible to Numbers 13. But see, if you're filled full of courage, you're willing to go against the majority. Let me give you a couple of examples in today's world about going against the majority. I mean, one obvious way is that if you're a member of our church, you're obviously willing to go against the majority of your own personal family because most of them are Catholic, right? There might be a few exceptions, but I would say just about everybody in the Philippines, most of your family is Catholic. Your cousins, your aunts, your uncles, most people you know are Catholic. And see, here's the thing, you can get saved quietly and nobody knows about it, right? You can believe in your heart and not make it public and not start coming to church and not say you're against the Catholic church. And there are a lot of people that do that. They get saved, but they are not going to publicly get baptized and join our church and make it known. Why? Because they don't want to offend their family. But here's the thing. Could you say somebody is filled full of bravery if they get saved and then they just keep that salvation to themselves the day they die? You can't say they're filled with bravery, can you? And if you come to our church, you know what you're doing? You're actually showing some bravery because I promise you, most of your family doesn't like our church. Now, most of you don't tell me that, but I know it's true. Most of your family doesn't. I mean, if you come from a Baptist background, probably most of your old friends and relatives or whatever, they don't like me. That's fine. I don't have to be the most likable person. It is what it is because what the Lord said, that will I speak, whether it's popular or whether it's not popular, right? So you're showing bravery coming here. What's another example of showing bravery? What is really the issue of our day that has not always been an issue through the world? Here's the issue of our day. This is a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah in the Philippines. It is a modern day just infestation of the LGBT. It's like a plague that is on our society. I mean, we're definitely one of the highest countries in the world by any metric you want to use of being pro-LGBT or the highest percentage. You say, why do you always preach about it? Because I see it everywhere I go. I mean, I can't help but preach in the things that I see and I hear, and my conscience is vexed as I just try to go out in public and just everywhere you go, you gotta deal with these people. I mean, we have a modern day infestation in our country. And there are some metrics that would suggest this has the highest percentage of any country in the world. And I don't necessarily think we're the highest, but I definitely think we're near the top. And that's not something to be proud about. And I would think, I would think Baptist would get up and preach about these things. But is that what I see? That is not what I see. What I see Baptist pastors doing is pretending to preach against it, but not really. I mean, I'm amazed. I see Baptist pastors that will be in two-hour organized debates sitting across from a cross-dresser. Let me just help you out with something. I could not stand to be in the presence of a cross-dresser for a couple hours. I couldn't do it. I mean, after two minutes, I'd walk out of the debate and say, I lose, because I'm not going to fill my mind with this garbage. It's disgusting. Right, and even just, and look, you can agree with me or disagree because I can't stand the LGBT, and I get it if that's the way you feel. But look, don't post pictures on Facebook where you see this film. We know it exists, but I don't want to see cross-dressers. It's like, just write the words, but don't actually show me. It's disgusting. But that's the world that we live in. And we're growing up, and I mean, our kids are growing up in a country where normalization will take over. What I mean by that is basically desensitization. You see it, it starts to feel normal to you because it's everywhere. And here's the thing, if you stand up against the LGBT in 2024, it requires bravery. It's amazing that this, I mean, because it seems so obvious, but it requires bravery to just boldly stand up and say, no, I'm against it. So everybody else is on board. Can't you get along with them? No. Well, aren't you trying to reach them? No. I want to keep this place safe at Verity Baptist Church. I want our kids to be safe in this room. I don't want you as a parent to come to church and you have to be scared to death because there's cross dressers all over the place. This church is not going to become a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. And it might out there, it's not going to become a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah here. So how can it be like that? Because I have courage. Because I have valiance. And if you're going to have valiance and bravery, you're willing to go against the majority. And one of the big things in our day is standing up against the LGBT. And I'll tell you what, if this seems too radical for you, you need to just come to church as much as you can and start reading the Bible for yourself so you realize, actually, thus saith the Lord. Have you not read Genesis 19? Have you not read Judges 19? This is the world we live in. It's everywhere. It's all around us and it's never going to be normal no matter how common it is. Point number one, you're willing to go against the majority. But not only are you willing to go against the majority, you're willing to do the difficult thing. Now, go to Numbers 13 and let me show you to you verse 31. Remember, the people complain. We can't take it. I mean, there's the people in the land. And notice verse 31. But the men that went up with him said, we'd be not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we. They say, but Caleb, you're saying we're going to take it at once. No, we're not. They're stronger than us. And I'm sure Caleb is thinking, what's your point? Because a valiant person is willing to do what's difficult. Maybe they are stronger. Maybe they are bigger. What's your point? Right? I mean, if you're willing to do what's difficult, who cares if it's hard? Let me help you out with something. Anything in life worth value is going to be difficult to achieve. That's the way it is. And we understand salvation is easy. Believe on Christ. But if you're going to be a Godly Christian, and even going outside of Christianity, you want to become very good at something, it takes work. Nobody just says, well, you know what? I've just decided I want to be an Olympic lifter. And then you wake up tomorrow and you're benching 500 pounds. Doesn't work that way. That's going to take years and probably a lot of steroids to reach that sort of level. It doesn't happen. I mean, if you want to become very intelligent, guess what? Got to spend a lot of time reading. Got to spend a lot of time educating yourself. Nothing in life worth value. You say, I want to play an instrument and become very good. Well, that's going to take hours and hours and hundreds of hours to get really, really good. It doesn't come just automatically. Anything worth value takes time and effort. You want to be successful in life, you're going to have to do what's difficult. It's going to take time. It's going to take effort to be successful and to accomplish something. Anything worth value takes time. I mean, if you set New Year's resolutions in 2025, whatever your New Year's resolution you set, it's going to be difficult. It's going to be hard. Well, here's the thing. I mean, if you have an end goal, instead of looking at the obstacles, why don't you just look at the end goal and say it's worth it? Right? You know, when I was growing up, you know, soccer was my big thing. And you know, I love soccer more than anything when I was growing up. But let me be honest with you, I really liked to train for soccer. You know, I used to just at my house, I'd be in front of a brick wall and I'd spend 20 minutes just hitting it as hard as I could, back and forth, back and forth, moving around, practicing everything. Guess what? That wasn't that much fun. You say, well, why'd you do it? I did that because during the game, it would cause you to be better than other people. That's the reason why. The training is never the fun part. Look, memorizing versus to learn for soul winning is not necessarily that fun. It's not necessarily that fun because you're memorizing Revelation 21a over and over and over and over again. You say, well, why do it? Because then you go out soul winning and you use that verse to get somebody saved. That's why. So instead of looking at the obstacle, look at the end result and realize, hey, if it's gonna be something valuable, it's gonna take time. It's gonna take effort, but I have a goal in my mind. I want to accomplish it. And if you are valiant, you are not afraid to do what's difficult. You're gonna be willing to do what's difficult. They say the people are stronger. I say, what's your point? So they're stronger. Verse 32, and it brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched on the children of Israel saying, the land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. What? Can somebody translate that to me? What do you mean it eats up the inhabitants? Are you saying that the land is like, it just opens up and eats them like it does with Korah a few chapters later? I'm assuming that what they're saying is it's a land that is not very arable. And arable is a word meaning it's very easy to cultivate the land. Like in the world, arable does not necessarily mean the land that produces the most. It means it's the most naturally blessed land. So around the world, the two countries that have the highest amount of arable land are the United States and India. And although India, they're always like right at the top. Though the United States has a smaller population, it is a lot less densely populated. So by percentage, India is near the top of the world, even by just percentage of the land. What's interesting about that is, you look at two lands that are very arable, that they're just built where you can really produce a lot and yet you've got one country that's rich and then you've got India that is not so rich as their stupid religion, because of Hinduism. It's like you should be a rich country, but you gotta eat the cows. It's like kill them and eat them. What are you doing? Not only that, they don't kill any of the animals. So what happens, not only do they not eat the meat, they don't eat the plants because the rats get them. Kill them. Quit worshiping them, you idiot. Right? The land is actually very arable and they waste it. But here's what's funny about that. They say the land eats up the inhabitants. Really? You just said it's a land flowing with milk and honey. You just brought the grapes and the figs and the pomegranates. Look, grapes are a bit of a luxury. They're not the cheapest fruits. I'll be honest with you. To me, the greatest tasting liquid is grape juice. I love grape juice, but it's expensive. Especially during that day, when it would take even more to make them, but it's like, they come back and then they've got grapes and figs and pomegranates. It's like, man, this is better than Egypt. This is awesome. And then they just contradict themselves a few verses later. The land eats up the inhabitants. Then how is it flowing with milk and honey and grapes and pomegranates and figs? It doesn't make any sense, but you know what? Here's the thing. People always make excuses, even if they make no sense at all. And that completely contradicts what they just said about it being a land flowing with milk and honey. And it said, and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. Every man is just really tall. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we're in our own site as grasshoppers. And so we were in their site. So they're saying, we're going to this land and the people are 500 feet tall. Does anybody believe that we're grasshoppers? Because even when there's a big disparity or difference between heights, it's like, somebody is not twice your height. There's nobody in the world that is twice as tall as me. Now there are the Kaisotos of the world. There are the Shaquille and Neils of the world or Yao-Mings of the world that are really tall. If you know basketball, those are names you might know. But it's not like they're this tall. They're like this tall. And yeah, when it's saying giants, it's not saying it's like the Jolly Green Giant or something out of some fairytale, right? It's just saying they're seven feet tall. Okay, so there's tall people. I don't believe for a second, as they said, every person is of a great stature. I don't believe that. Every single person in the country is really tall. Is there any country in the world where everybody's tall? Look, there are plenty of places around the world where, you know, that are tall countries, but then there's still short people that live in this country. It's not like everybody's the same height. I'm significantly taller than my family, and it's like not everybody is tall in any country, but they're saying whatever to get out of doing it. But let's just say what they're saying is true. Let's say that every single person in that country is 500 feet tall. We're like grasshoppers. What's your point? Right, I mean, are you willing to do what's difficult? I mean, if God specifically says, hey, take this land, who are you to say it was too hard to do? Well, why would God command you to do something that's impossible? Right, what difference does it make if it's difficult? Because if you're filled full of bravery and valiance and courage, you're not afraid to do what's difficult. Go in your Bible to James 4, James 4. Let me give you some things in our lives that are not easy, that are difficult. And as your turn to James 4, I'll just quote you where the Bible says, you have not yet resisted on the blood, striving against sin. What does it mean to strive against sin? It means to fight against sin. It means you're tempted and you withstand temptation. You say, I will not get into this temptation. I'm not going to do it. It's wrong, it's wicked, I'm going to serve God and walk in the Spirit. That's hard. I wish, I wish that life was just, you wake up and all you desire is to read the Bible. All you desire is to serve God. No bad thoughts come into your head. You're never covetous, you're never bitter. You're never, I mean, when your child accidentally spills like juice or milk all over the couch, you're just like, well, it's okay, bless God. You know, it doesn't bother you at all, but that's not the way life works. Life is stressful, life is hard. Anyway, it's hard to fight against sin. It's hard to always do what is right. But here's the thing, one thing that shows valiance is when you're willing to fight against sin. Why? Because you're willing to fight a difficult battle. What is easy is to give in to the sins of the flesh. What is easy is to go home and just turn on the TV. What's hard is to actually go home and read and memorize the Word of God. That's what's hard. But if you're valiant, you're willing to do what's difficult. The Bible says in James 4, verse 7, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. If you resist the devil, he's gonna flee. Look, it's hard to resist and stand against the devil. It's hard to stand against temptations. How do we do this? Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. If you're gonna cleanse your hands and fight against sin, you need to draw nigh to God. Look, the closer you are to God, the less likely you are to give in to temptations. We need to be willing to fight and stand against sin. And here's the truth, most things that are right and wrong, you already know them. Most of the things you don't really need me to get up and preach, you already know it. You already know it's wrong to listen to the music that you're listening to. You might get mad at me about pointing it out, but you already know it's true on the inside anyway. It's a matter of me just basically taking the sword of the word of God and just like stabbing you with it in the heart and saying, hey, fix the problem. It's about motivating you. Most things, though, you already know. Most things I already know, but here's the thing, that doesn't mean that they're easy to do. It's not easy for me either. It's hard to serve God. It's hard to do what's right. It's hard to fight against sin. Temptations are hard to overcome. But if you are a valiant person, you are not going to just back down from the challenge, but you say, you know what? I am willing to do what is difficult. Turn your Bible to Psalm 119. Psalm 119. So if you want to resist the devil, you better draw nigh to God. How do we draw nigh to God? Is it by just singing some praise and worship song like, our God is an awesome God, he reigns. And all of a sudden, you're just really close to God. It doesn't work that way. You know how you draw nigh to God? You wake up and you read and memorize the Bible. That's how you do it. There's no substitute to spending your personal time with God. Let me help you out. The preaching at this church is not a substitute to your personal time with God. I'm sorry, but you cannot expect me in a couple hours to preach enough on a Sunday to get you through the week. Maybe it could get you through the day, but if you want to get through the week, you better be opening up the Bible every single day to get the word of God. You ought to get a Bible reading chart and just say, hey, whether I feel like it or not, I'm going to do it. You know why you should have a Bible reading chart? Because when you don't feel like it, you have your chart, you do it anyway, because you got your chart and you mark it off. You need to make your personal time with God a priority. And yet, I'm not looking for a show of hands, but I'm sure there's many people in here that say, over the last week, I barely opened up my Bible. I didn't spend any time with prayer with God, other than like right before I eat, just doing a quick prayer, but you didn't actually spend any time in prayer. It's been years since you memorized verses out of the Bible, and do whatever you want, but good luck resisting the devil if you're not drawing nigh to God. You better draw nigh to God if you want to resist the devil. You say, but that's difficult. Yeah, but if you're filled full of courage and bravery and valiance, you're willing to do what's difficult. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm admitting it's difficult. But notice what it says in Psalm 119, verse nine. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word. In Psalm 119, verse nine, the way this verse is written is that a young man living thousands of years ago, good luck living a clean and godly life if you don't take heed to God's word. Look, I think all of us would agree there's a lot more easily accessible temptations in today's world than when David was writing this. Wouldn't we agree with that? I mean, in the world we live in today, with cell phones and computers and every gadget under the sun, I mean, literally at your fingertips is just about every sin imaginable. That's the world we live in. It's more difficult. Now, I don't back down the challenge because I'm willing to do what's difficult. And I think in today's world we can do greater works for God, but there are more challenges that are there. Sin is so easily accessible. I don't believe during this day when they're driving down the road you got cross dressers on every billboard. I don't believe that, but nowadays you walk into McDonald's and that new mascot is a scary dude, woman, whatever. Vice Pong eat. It's everywhere. It is difficult in today's world. And how are we gonna raise the young kids to grow up and love God? By taking heed to God's word. Meaning as parents, put it in their minds, in their hearts to read and memorize the Bible at a young age. They need it. It is a dangerous and scary world that is coming up. And our kids, the youth, I mean, all of us need this, but especially the young people need to start reading and memorizing the Bible at a young age. And you know what takes place? Reading the Bible and memorizing the Bible, it's like another method to drive out the foolishness in a young person, isn't it? I mean, the world is one way at a young age, but I'll tell you what, you know how to help drive out the immaturity and the foolishness by getting our young kids to read the Bible. Otherwise they're gonna grow up and be immature just like everybody else is in today's world. Having a personal walk with God, it says in verse 10, With my whole heart have I sought thee, O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. Verse 11 is talking about Bible memorization, hiding God's word in your heart. You say, Pastor, that's hard, it's difficult. Yeah, but if you're a valiant person, you're willing to do what's difficult. You're filled full of courage. You're filled full of bravery. You don't back down from a challenge. And I'll tell you something, it's a rare thing to be filled full of courage and bravery. I mean, think about the story of David and Goliath. Nobody's valiant in Israel except one man. Why are we Goliaths too tall? I mean, he's an experienced fighter. I can't go against him. Yeah, you're just saying that you're the cowardly lion, my friend. You have no courage. You have no boldness. Turn your Bible to Joshua 14, Joshua 14. Now, one thing that I'm not really preaching on as much today, but as another example of doing something that's difficult is going soul winning. Going soul winning is difficult. And I definitely believe it would be said of this church, this is a church that loves soul winning. I mean, most people in our church are active and zealous soul winners and love preaching the gospel. But let's just be honest about this. The first time you went soul winning, you were scared to death, right? You know that's true. Guess what? The first time I went soul winning, I was the cowardly lion. Every excuse, I mean, it's not my gift. It's not my ability. I can't do it, right? And I started off as a silent partner, but then all of a sudden you see that excitement. I was like, man, I want that too, right? All of us started off afraid. You know why? Well, you know, most people that are zealous soul winners aren't really naturally just these really outgoing people where they just walk up to random strangers. I don't walk up to random strangers and start talking unless I'm at a restaurant and I'm ordering something, right? It's not my natural thing. And I don't think it's for anybody here. It takes courage. It takes valiance. Now here's the thing about this. You put out a step of faith when you started becoming a soul winner. You showed valiance. You showed courage. Here's the thing. All of us want the comfortable thing of never having to step out in faith, but here's the reality. God always wants us to step out in the water in our life and go to something that's a little bit of an uneasy ground that makes us a little bit afraid. Why? Because we have to rely on God. Your life is not meant to be a point where you never step out of faith. No, your life has meant that you're stepping out a little bit more, a little bit more. I remember, you know, I started soul winning before I started preaching, but I remember the first sermon that I preached. Man, I was scared to death. I mean, I woke up in the morning. Can I make the excuse I'm sick? So I don't know if I can do this. Now, I don't really get nervous when I preach now, but that's because when you do things, you get used to it, right? But the first time I preached a sermon, yeah, I was scared to death. I was worried. I was like, I didn't consider myself a public speaker. It wasn't really something I would consider myself good at or something I enjoyed, but I had that desire. I had that burden, but it was hard. Look, don't be afraid of doing what's difficult in life, because if you want to accomplish something, you must be willing to do what's difficult. That's just the way it works. Another example of doing what's difficult, and we see this in the life of Caleb, is not growing weary in well-doing, right? I am happy I can say standing before you now that I've been a faithful soul winner for 20 years at this point in my life. I would say that less than a year after I got saved, I started getting into soul winning. I didn't really know proper techniques, but I was a regular weekly soul winner going back about less than a year after I got saved, I would say. So 20 years I've been a faithful soul winner. But here's the thing about this. I still consider myself a young man, and I want to be a faithful soul winner in another 10 years, in 20 years, in 30 years. Now obviously, we understand there's no guarantee that God is going to give you the health, and you might be in a situation where that's not possible, and we get that. But if I have the ability and the strength in my body, I still want to be zealous and filled full of valiance and courage for soul winning 20 years from now, 30 years from now. And that's what you see with Joshua, because it's very easy to be filled full of courage at a young age, but then lose it at an older age. Don't you see this with a lot of people in the Bible? They have a lot of courage when they're young, and it kind of just dies off. They just lose it. And Caleb is someone that kept that valiance with him his whole life. Joshua 14, verse six. Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua and Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the kenazi said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the man of God concerning me in the end, Kadish Barnea. 40 years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadish Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. Caleb was 40 years old in the story that we opened with. Right, isn't that what the Bible says? He was 40 years old, okay? Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. This is true. And Moses sware in that day saying, Surely the land where on thy feet of child shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive as he said these forty and five years, ever since the Lord spake this word unto Moses. So, 40 plus 45, 85 years old. Now, during this time, Aaron lives to be 123, Moses lives to be 120, but people are not living to be hundreds and hundreds of years like in the book of Genesis. So, perhaps 85 is more like 70 or something, but it's certainly not young, right? And he says, I'm 85 years old, and notice what it says in verse 11. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me, as my strength was then, even so is my strength now for war, both to come out and to come in. And Caleb says, hey, we've got this promised land, we haven't inherited it yet, and guess what? I still want the land. Now, what's interesting is this, Caleb's not really gonna be the one that gets to partake in the beauty of the land. I mean, he's 85 and most of his life is over, he's not gonna experience it much. But he still says, hey, I've got courage, we've got this promised land, I want the land. What a great attitude, right? Because look, I'm basically 40 now in a few months, I'm in my 30s for another four months, right? I hope that when I'm twice my age, I have this attitude, you know what? I'm filled full of just as much courage and valiance as I've ever been filled with. Now realistically, if you're a lot older, you're not gonna be able to go soul winning for as long and maybe not as many times during the week. Obviously there's health problems, we get that. But don't you love the attitude from Caleb here in Joshua 14? He says, I'm not done, I'm not throwing in the towel. Don't develop this attitude, well, you know what? I did my time soul winning, now let's just leave it to the young people, I'm retired. Look, soul winning is not something I ever wanna retire from. There might come a day when I get older and I retire from preaching, that is certainly a possibility, but I don't wanna retire from soul winning unless I don't have the health and I just can't do it. I wanna be involved in the action until my dying day, if possible. You say, what, I love soul winning. And here's the thing, it takes courage, it takes variance. One of the things I love about soul winning is sometimes you're afraid to give the gospel and then you overcome those fears and you give the gospel and people get saved and there's this great satisfaction because you know that you stepped out in faith and it was hard. We need to be people that are willing to do what's difficult and part of that is not growing weary and well doing but keeping this attitude of a zeal for soul winning and a zeal for serving God like Caleb. Go to your Bible and Numbers 14. Numbers 14. Numbers chapter 14. I mean, I would say to you today that I think Caleb is an underrated character in the word of God. And you know, obviously Joshua is the one that God chose to take over for Moses but I mean, Caleb's right there with Joshua. I mean, there's no book of Caleb but do you ever see Caleb end up backsliding? No, and most characters in the Bible, you see that Caleb never backslides. I mean, as far as we know, he's zealous for serving God until the day he dies. 85 years old, he's like, man, I want that sword in my hand. I want to be on the front of battle. It's like, what a great attitude that Caleb had. Point number one, a valiant person is willing to go against the majority. Point two, they're willing to do what's difficult and lastly, they're willing to risk their own health if necessary. If you are a valiant person, you're willing to risk your own health if necessary. Now, we're in chapter 14 of Numbers. Chapter 15 is all about going to battle. But let's see chapter 14 before that. Verse one, and all the congregation lifted up their voice in cry and the people wept that night and all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron and the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we had died in this wilderness? I think to myself, would God that you had died in the Red Sea, right? It's like, that's because, you know, one thing I love about our church is we're like-minded on the same page. I mean, Moses has a tough job because part of the congregation is really on fire for God and then the other part of the congregation is very much not, right? And it says in verse three, and wherefore have the Lord brought us out of this land to fall by the sword that our wives and our children should be a prey. Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? It's like, do you not remember what Egypt was like? I mean, I get the grass is greener on the other side, but do you not realize the persecution you had when you were in ancient Egypt? And they said one to another, let us make a captain, let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their face before all the assembly of the congregation of Israel and Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephthuna, which were of them that searched the land, rent or tear their clothes. And it says here in verse seven, and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, the land which we pass 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 defense is departed from them, the Lord is with us. Fear them not. So you've got these four men, you got Moses, you got Aaron, you got Joshua. Moses is obviously very prominent. Aaron is the right hand man of Moses. Joshua takes over, he has a book written after him. The one guy we can forget is Caleb. He's right there in it as much as any of them, right? He's right there standing up. And this is like a rabid crowd of people that are saying, let us return into Egypt. We can't do it. And notice what it says in verse 10. But all the congregation bade, stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. I mean, they're rallying up the crowd to kill Moses and to kill Aaron and to kill Joshua and kill Caleb. What are you saying? We're seeing a man that has valiance and he's willing to stand up against this crowd. Now look, I'm not suggesting to you that you should act foolish in your life. I'm not saying go to the Feast of the Black Nazarene on January 8th and just hold up a sign and say the Catholic church is wicked or whatever, because you will get stoned and God never calls you to do that, right? But there could come a time in life where being valiant might mean your personal safety is at risk. You say, what do you do in that situation? You stand up for what's right. You don't back down. Now look, I'm thankful we live in a country where we do have an incredible amount of freedom to serve God. And praise God for that. Because if I was preaching this same sermon in a Muslim country, I would be dead by now. I would be killed. If you're preaching this in a Hindu country, a Buddhist country, I mean in many countries around the world, you're gonna get killed. You're gonna get arrested. You're gonna be stoned with stones. But you must have this attitude you're willing to stand up for what's right no matter what the outcome is. Having this attitude, I'd rather burn than bow. I'd rather go in the fiery furnace than to bow down and worship this false idol. That's the way it is. I mean, look, if a law came across this country that required us all to bow down, I mean, let's just say a very heavily Catholic president takes over one day. It's very possible. And they make it a law that everybody must bow down to whatever idol. You better have the attitude, I don't care if I get arrested. I don't care what anybody thinks. I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna do what's right. And guess what? It takes valiance. It takes courage. It takes bravery. You know, one of the big things that's missing from churches in 2024 is a lack of bravery from the pulpit. A lack of courage from the pulpit. Look, if God has called you to be a preacher and you're a pastor, you're running a church, you're preaching sermons, your job is to be the one leading the charge. And if you're gonna be filled full of fear, how are the followers gonna be confident and bold? Because look at Saul in the story of David and Goliath. Saul's afraid to go to battle, so nobody goes to battle. Then one man steps up and guess what happens? Everyone just goes. I mean, they only killed one person. Legitimately. I mean, it's such an amazing story in 1 Samuel 17, but there's only one guy that was killed. And then that encouraged everybody to go out and fight the battle. And there's a lack of valiance and bravery. You know what? There's a lack of valiance in the home in 2024. We need some men of God that will stand up, and this is Father's Day part two, and say, hey, you know what? I'm gonna raise, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You say, but my wife might make me sleep on the couch. Have some bravery! Stand up and do what's right! We need courage in 2024. And look, we as men need to be the leaders. We need to be the ones that are filled full of bravery and courage. It's your job. It is what it is. Look, if a robber breaks into your house, you don't just send your wife out to deal with it. You deal with it. You're the leader of the home, and you ought to be the leader spiritually. And we see Caleb, he's filled full of valiance. He's filled full of courage. He's filled full of bravery. You say, but man, he almost died. Yeah, but God stepped in and saved him. And I'll tell you what. It's very easy for any of us to think that we're valiant people. Didn't Peter think he was a very valiant person? Though all men deny thee, I'll never deny thee. Right, it's a bit of an arrogant statement to make, though everybody else is gonna back down. I'm not going to, right? And yet, Peter's there just backing down and afraid. Now later on, after the resurrection and Jesus talks to him, he basically tells him, you're gonna be martyred. And from that point, I would say that Peter's a very bold man. Obviously not a perfect man. We all make mistakes, but you don't see him like backing down like that in the future to that level of degree. He's a bold man. Here's the thing. He thought he was very valiant earlier, and yet he wasn't. It's very easy for any of us to think that we're valiant, we're filled full of courage, but when the situation comes up, are you actually gonna stand up for what's right, or are you gonna back down? Right? You say, well, what can we do? You know, one of the big things is spending time in the word of God to build that boldness. The Bible says the righteous are as bold as a lion. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. And isn't it true that when people are right with God, they just don't have a lot of fear? But when someone's not right with God, in your personal life, when you're not quite right with God, isn't it true that fear just kind of comes over you in every situation? I mean, it's been a couple years now, but you know what, in the past, it's like everybody in the world, it seemed like, was filled full of fear about what might happen. But see, here's the thing, when you're right with God, you're filled full of boldness. See, where does that come from? It comes from the Holy Spirit of God. Boldness and courage and bravery is something that God gives you when you're right with God. None of us in our natural flesh have the boldness to go out and preach the gospel and do mighty works for God. But here's the thing, when you're right with God, you're not in your old flesh. You're walking in the new man. You're walking in the Spirit. And Caleb is a great example of someone filled full of valiance, filled full of courage, filled full of bravery. And not just the men, but every woman, every child in this room, we should strive to be people that are filled full of valiance, just like Caleb. Let's go to a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, God, and I ask you to help us just to apply this sermon to our lives, including myself and my family. Help us to be people that are filled full of valiance, filled full of courage, filled full of bravery. Help us not back down. Help us be willing to do what's difficult, God. Help us to be willing to stand up and serve you in this ungodly and wicked world that we live in, God. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.