Josh 14:9, So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.' 
In this morning’s reading, we have the account of Caleb the son of Jephunneh coming before Joshua to claim the inheritance that was promised him because of his faithfulness before the Lord. He and Joshua were the only ones of the spies sent into the Promised Land, who came back and tried to encourage the people to go right into the Land despite the discouraging reports of the others. They did so because they knew that the Lord was going before them. Joshua and Caleb were faithful witnesses unto the trust in the Lord that was absent in the entirety of that first generation. Therefore, they were the only two, of that otherwise faithless generation, who were permitted into the Promised Land by the Lord.
As a direct result of Caleb’s obedience, his complete trust in the Lord, and having followed the Lord fully, he was given the land that he trod and for which he had declared his conviction in God to conquer. He knew that the Lord would prevail, no matter how fierce and big and numerous were the inhabitants of the land. Because Caleb was fully following the Lord and consecrated completely unto the service of God, he was honored by God in the direct promise as set before us.
We need to spend a little time looking at the effects that being fully consecrated to God has in our lives. This is not for the sake of what we get out of it but because of the glory that our consecration will bring unto God. That is the core reality of the stand that Caleb took, along with Joshua, against all the other divisive and fear filled and cowardly manipulations of the fellow spies who were sent into Canaan. Those other spies were consumed with the thoughts and the worries about their own safety. On the other hand, Caleb and Joshua were focused on the glory that God would receive in the victorious conquest of the Land of Promise.
Accordingly, when Moses was faced with the dire possibility of this same issue of faithlessness arising because the 2 and ½ tribes wanted the land on other side of the Jordan for their flocks and herds, he posited forth the evidenced consecration of Joshua and Caleb. Those tribes were asking not to have their inheritance in the Promised Land. Therefore Moses was livid at the possibility of what had happened with that first faithless generation and what could happen at this point of the seeming desertion by these 2 and ½ tribes. 
Please open to Num 32:6-13 so we can read how Moses responded to that harrowing request. He provided the detailed accounting of how that entire first, self-consumed generation was so riveted in their fears and doubts rather than concentrating upon the glory of the Lord that would be revealed. In his discourse, Moses made the consecration of Caleb and Joshua the focal point of what faith in the Lord entailed. 
Num 32:6-13, But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? "Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them? "This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. So the Lord's anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, 'None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the Lord fully.' "So the Lord's  anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed. 
Those 2 and ½ tribes were given the land they desired, but only with the stipulation that they would continue forward into the Promised Land to help the rest of the nation in the conquest of Canaan. They were to be active participants in the bringing of glory to the Lord God Jehovah through obedient service until they were finally released to go back to the land they requested.
Our next example of consecration unto the Lord is that of Josiah, King of Judah. At the age of 8 years old, he inherited a kingdom that was afoul with worship unto all the false deities of the peoples around Judah. There was so much evil that was being practiced that many had even forgotten that they were supposed to be the people of the One True and Living Lord God Almighty.
Josiah, however, did what was right in the sight of the Lord and he ordered that Temple of the Lord would be repaired. At that point, the book of the Law was discovered and Josiah took it to heart and the result is recorded for us in 2 Kings 23:2+3.
2 Kings 23:2+3, And the king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant. 
Josiah consecrated himself, and all the people entered into that consecration unto the Lord in the covenant of obedience to the Word of God. This covenant was in order to fully honor the Lord God Jehovah. Josiah stood before the entire nation as an example of one who wanted to walk faithfully before the Lord as the appointed and anointed King of the people of God. 
The remainder of the chapter details how Josiah had the idols and the false priests and the altars removed and destroyed. He did so in order for the Lord to be completely glorified by the people whom He had redeemed from their slavery to Egypt. There was a return to the teaching of the Word of God and all the service of sacrifice and honor that Jehovah, Alone, deserved.
Accordingly, we want to consider a most mighty statement made by God in His Word that will stand for all of eternity concerning Josiah. It is found in verse 25 of this 23rd Chapter of 2 Kings. What joy it would reveal if our hearts desired to be so consecrated unto the Lord to thusly bless Him to the utmost in our walk on this earth.    
2 Kings 23:25, And before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. 
The next example of dedication we will consider is King Asa and his commitment to the Lord. This is recorded in 2 Chron 15:8-15. It was after the Lord had routed the massive Ethiopian army that had been arrayed against Judah. Asa had trusted in Jehovah to be victorious so that the glory of the Lord would be witnessed in God’s triumph over that immense army of men. 
As Asa was returning from that glorious conquest with all the spoils of war, he was met by the prophet with the words of the Lord which Asa took sincerely to heart. There was a consecration unto God which swept throughout Judah that was fueled by the commitment of this king to the Lord God, Jehovah.
2 Chron 15:8-15, Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. And they sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. And they entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. 
    	Next please consider the consecration of the Psalmist, as in Ps 119:55-67. Here is declared the utter love for the Lord and all His precepts. The Psalmist makes it very clear that the law of the Lord is the cord of salvation. There is that complete dedication to the glorious ways of the Lord, even in the midnight hours. His heart and mind is filled with the promise of filial obedience and the absolute reliance upon the Lord. This is in order to make it clearly evident that through this consecrated submission and honor, the Lord will be glorified. 
	Ps 119:55-67, O Lord, I remember Thy name in the night, And keep Thy law. This has become mine, That I observe Thy precepts. The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Thy words. I entreated Thy favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Thy word. I considered my ways, And turned my feet to Thy testimonies. I hastened and did not delay To keep Thy commandments. The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Thy law. At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to Thee Because of Thy righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all those who fear Thee, And of those who keep Thy precepts. The earth is full of Thy lovingkindness, O Lord; Teach me Thy statutes. Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word. Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Thy word. 
	We now turn to the New Testament, and the declaration of the Apostle Paul as proclaimed in Phil 3:1-14. In this passage, the Apostle makes it very evident that everything that we may have and that we may gain on this earth is to be considered as utter rubbish in the light of the glory of God that has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. 
Paul, formerly Saul, was the archetypal Jew, of the best tribe of the nation, with the greatest teachers and learning of the Torah. Yet, in spite of all the earthly advantages with which he was bestowed, nothing compared to the manifest magnificence of God that is Jesus Christ, both Savior and Lord. 
With the ever deepening relationship that we have in Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are to press on without let up and without failure and without compromise. We are to be set on knowing the full measure of Christ crucified and most especially Christ resurrected and Christ glorified. Nothing else is of any value when we become enthralled with the eternal glory of God in Jesus, The Only Begotten of The Father. 
Phil 3:1-14, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 
	We close with the great admonition from the Apostle Paul to all of us that is contained in 1 Thess 5:15-24. We have all learned parts of it and that is well and good. The key that we want to focus on this morning, as we draw this discussion to a close is the fact that there is the utter necessity to be wholly consecrated unto the Lord, far beyond the measure of any human abilities. What we are so encouraged to constantly hold before us, in our thoughts and in our actions, is completely impossible apart from the obedience that is required to the Word of God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 
This absolute consecration can only be in place in us when we want to live those lives that fully please the Lord. This is established as we learn to trust Him in the course of every day no matter how stressful and disheartening may be the events and circumstances of that day.
	1 Thess 5:15-24, See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 
	In this passage, we see the faithfulness and the dedication of Moses, of Joshua, of Caleb, of Josiah, of Asa, of the Psalmist, of the Apostle Paul. Most especially we see the perfect consecration of Our Lord Jesus Christ. His is the life that is to flow forth from our walk on this earth. He is the response to each slight and dart and arrow of outrageous fortune that pierces our flesh and being. 
It is only in Jesus that we can be so dedicated to the glory of God against every enemy, against every slight and insult, against every trial and tribulation, against every spiritual foe. Christ is our eternal victory and He is the source of our complete assurance and hope. In Him we will find all the faithfulness and the steadfastness and the grace and the mercy and the love of God, to His praise and honor Alone. So be it!
So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully. Amen.

  

This morning’s benediction is 1 Cor 16:14. Let all that you do be done in love. Amen.