“Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance… because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.”
— Joshua 14:8-9 (KJV)
Intro
At our Missions Conference this year at Central Baptist Church in Center, Texas, Brother Matt Hudson preached a message that stirred my heart. He spoke about Caleb — a man who decided, early in life, that no matter what others did, he would follow God fully. The message reminded me how easy it is to grow cautious in our faith, to measure our steps instead of trusting God completely. But faith doesn’t add up on paper; it adds up in obedience.
The Faith of Caleb
Caleb’s story still amazes me. When he was forty, he believed God could conquer the giants in Canaan. When he was eighty-five, he still believed it. His body may have aged, but his faith never did.
Brother Hudson said something that stuck: “God didn’t send the spies to test if He was able — He sent them so they could see how big He is.” That line hit home. How many times has God allowed me to see a “giant” not to frighten me, but to teach me that He’s bigger than every fear, bill, or unknown ahead?
Caleb saw the same giants everyone else saw. The difference was that he saw God first.
Wholly Following the Lord
The Bible says five times that Caleb “wholly followed the Lord.” That phrase means completely, without hesitation. Brother Hudson illustrated it with a story about a little boy who had nothing to give when the offering plate came by. He asked the usher to put the plate on the floor so he could stand in it and give himself.
That’s what it means to follow God fully — not tipping God a token of time or money, but surrendering ourselves.
Faith promise giving isn’t about figuring out what we can afford; it’s about believing that God will provide what He has promised. When we step out by faith, we’re not walking into the dark — we’re stepping onto the faithfulness of God.
Giants, Grapes, and Grasshoppers
Brother Hudson pointed out that the spies saw three things: giants, grapes, and grasshoppers.
- The giants represented the problems.
- The grapes represented God’s provision — blessings so big they had to be carried on a pole.
- The grasshoppers represented how small they saw themselves.
That third part convicted me. It’s easy to let fear shrink our confidence until we start thinking like grasshoppers. But once we belong to Christ, we’re not insects — we’re more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
The difference is perspective. The ten fearful spies looked at the giants and then looked at themselves. Caleb looked at the giants and then looked at God.
Standing on the Promises
When the spies reached Hebron, they were standing on sacred ground — the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Brother Hudson reminded us that those graves testified of God’s faithfulness. Every name there was once a person who trusted an impossible promise: a barren woman giving birth, a wandering man becoming a nation.
God had kept His word to every one of them.
That thought gripped me. Caleb’s generation saw the graves of the faithful; we see the same God who raised Jesus from His own tomb. The ultimate proof that God keeps His promises is an empty grave.
Faith for Today
Sometimes we look back and think, “God did great things in the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s — but that was then.” Brother Hudson’s message reminded me that God hasn’t retired. The same God who provided for Hudson Taylor, William Carey, and countless missionaries is still providing today.
In our modern world of budgets and spreadsheets, it’s easy to let logic silence faith. But God’s economy runs on obedience. When we follow Him fully, He opens the windows of heaven in ways calculators can’t explain.
The Missionary’s Challenge
As a missionary family preparing to return to Ghana, West Africa, I couldn’t help but think of Caleb’s words, “Give me that mountain.” There are still giants to face — cultural challenges, language barriers, and the daily demands of life on the field. But the same God who led Caleb up Hebron will lead us through Ghana.
Every believer, no matter where they live, has a mountain to claim. For some it’s giving; for others it’s going; for all of us it’s trusting.
A Call to Follow Fully
Caleb’s life was marked by three things: faith, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. He trusted God when others doubted. He stayed faithful through forty-five years of waiting. And in the end, he enjoyed the fruit of victory.
That’s the pattern worth following.
Whether you’re a young Christian wondering what step to take next or a seasoned believer who’s been walking with God for decades — don’t lose your fire. Giants may look bigger now, but so do the grapes. God’s blessings are still abundant for those who wholly follow Him.
Closing Reflection
Brother Hudson closed his message with a thought that has echoed in my mind all week: “There’s one grave that excites me more than any other — the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. If He had the power to raise His Son, He can meet our needs too.”
That truth changes everything. If the tomb is empty, our faith is alive. If our Savior conquered death, then no challenge is too great for Him.
So when I face the next obstacle, I want to be like Caleb — not counting giants, but counting on God.
We be able. Not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Sermon Transcript:
Following God Fully
Preached by Brother Matt Hudson at Central Baptist Church, Center, Texas – Missions Conference 2025
Caleb is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. In fact, it’s hard to choose a favorite because usually my favorite is whichever one I’m reading about at the time! But Caleb truly stands out.
When we first meet him, he’s forty years old, and then we don’t hear much until he’s eighty-five — the day he looks up at Joshua and says, “I’m eighty-five years old today, but I still have the same strength I had at forty. Give me that mountain.” I love that spirit. I love that fire.
Caleb was from the tribe of Judah and one of twelve men chosen to spy out the promised land. Numbers 1 names the leaders of each tribe — the men over thousands, hundreds, and fifties — but in Numbers 13 a new list appears. These twelve spies were men under those leaders, sent to explore the land that God had already promised.
A Mission of Faith
The promised land wasn’t a new concept. Long before Egypt, God had promised it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, after four hundred-thirty years in bondage, the Israelites were about to see that promise fulfilled.
Joshua and Caleb were sent not to test whether God could do it — they already knew He could — but to witness how big He is. God essentially said, “Go see what I’m giving you. I want you to see the giants so you’ll know how great I am.”
That changes how we view trials. Giants aren’t there to discourage us; they’re there to display the greatness of God. When I see a giant, I can say, “That’s a big problem — but I’ve got a bigger God.”
Caleb and Joshua saw the same giants the other ten spies saw. They faced the same cities and dangers. Yet their report was different: “We are well able, for God is able.” Caleb became a testimony of faith.
Faith, Faithfulness, and Fruitfulness
Faith begins when we stop calculating and start trusting. During a faith-promise conference, it’s tempting to “do the math.” But the math doesn’t always math! Faith means saying, “I believe God can.”
Caleb’s life also testifies of faithfulness. Forty-five years after that first report, after every doubter’s carcass lay in the wilderness, Caleb was still saying, “God is able.” He never lost his fire.
And his life shows fruitfulness. At eighty-five, he led the charge up the mountain, conquering the giants of Anak. The same giants that had once terrified a nation fell before a faithful old man who wholly followed the Lord.
Wholly Following the Lord
Five times the Bible describes Caleb as one who “wholly” or “fully” followed the Lord. That means completely — all-in, one hundred percent. That’s the kind of Christianity we need. Not a Sunday-only faith, but a life wholly given to God.
Caleb reminds me of a little boy who had nothing to give when the offering plate came by. He asked the usher to set it on the floor, stepped inside, and said, “All I have is myself.” That’s what it means to follow God fully — giving Him you.
When God truly has us, the dollars and cents take care of themselves.
Facing Giants Today
We all face giants — financial pressure, fear, health, uncertainty. But God is bigger than every giant. Faith promise giving isn’t about our promise as much as it is about God’s promise. Philippians 4 reminds us, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.”
Life has problems — real ones. But the goal is to get our eyes off the giants and onto God. When the spies entered Canaan, it was the time of first-ripe grapes. God sent them then on purpose — to show that He not only knew about the giants, but also about the harvest. The grapes were so large that two men had to carry them on a pole. God was saying, “I’m bigger than your problems, and My blessings outweigh your burdens.”
Giants, Grapes, and Grasshoppers
Yet when the spies returned, they said, “We saw the giants… and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers.” That’s a sad perspective. They forgot the grapes, the provision, and the God who gave the promise.
As believers, we must see ourselves not as grasshoppers but as conquerors in Christ. It’s not pride; it’s confidence in Him. Without Christ we are nothing, but through Christ we are more than conquerors.
From Promise to Proof
Numbers 13:17 says Moses sent the men to spy out the land and to “go up into the mountain.” That wasn’t random. God specifically directed them to Hebron — the very place where, centuries earlier, Abraham had walked when God first said, “Arise, walk through the land… for I will give it unto thee.”
When those spies reached Hebron, they stood where Abraham and Sarah were buried — the only piece of land Abraham ever purchased in Canaan. Imagine them seeing those tombs: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Each grave whispered of God’s faithfulness — barren wombs turned into nations, promises fulfilled against all odds.
And just as God kept His word to them, He would keep it to Israel.
The God of the Living
We can look back at those same testimonies today: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, faithful missionaries of the past. Their graves remind us that God has not changed.
But the greatest grave is the empty one — the tomb of Jesus Christ. If God had the power to raise His Son from the dead, He’s certainly able to meet our needs and fulfill His promises.
So when you look at your checkbook, your circumstances, your limitations — remember, God is bigger. Giants will fall, grapes will grow, and graves will one day open because our God is able.
The Invitation
The question remains: are we living by faith? Would it be said of us, like Caleb, that we fully followed the Lord?
Whatever the giant may be — fear, finances, or the future — the God who called us is able. Let’s trust Him, step forward, and follow Him fully.
