This is Part 7 of our 15-part series walking through Session 1 of “The Assassins Among Us.” Check out the blog for previous posts.
ELEMENT 6: THE TESTING OF COMMITMENT
Numbers 14:22-24 shows God testing Israel’s commitment:
“None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”
God tests what we claim to believe. Your commitment will be proven in the battles ahead.
It’s easy to claim faith when life is comfortable. The test comes when following Jesus Christ costs you something real.
A DIFFERENT SPIRIT
Notice what made Caleb different: He had “a different spirit” and “followed fully.”
Caleb saw the same giants the other ten spies saw. He saw the same fortified cities. He saw the same obstacles. The difference wasn’t what Caleb saw—it was the spirit he had. While the ten spies operated in fear and unbelief, Caleb operated in faith and obedience.
Here’s the New Covenant reality: Under the Old Covenant, Caleb had “a different spirit”—a spirit of faith and full commitment. Under the New Covenant, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. It is the Holy Spirit who is the different spirit.
THE ATTACK ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
This is why there is such an attack on—or willful ignoring of—the Holy Spirit and His work in modern Christianity. If the enemy can get believers to dismiss, minimize, or neglect the Holy Spirit, he can neutralize the very power that enables us to follow fully.
Following Jesus Christ fully requires His strength, not yours. Passing the tests of commitment requires the Holy Spirit empowering you. Maintaining faithfulness through the battles ahead requires the Holy Spirit sustaining you.
This is precisely why the Holy Spirit’s role is either attacked or ignored:
Attacked by those who fear His conviction and control Ignored by those who want compromised Christianity without the cost of authentic faith Dismissed by those who prefer religious performance over supernatural transformation
But here’s the truth: Without the Holy Spirit, you will fail the test just like the wilderness generation did. You’ll see the giants and turn back. You’ll face opposition and compromise. You’ll claim faith but refuse to follow fully.
APPROVED BY GOD
2 Timothy 2:15 gives us the standard:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Notice the word “approved.” God is testing whether you’re a worker who can handle His Word correctly, who doesn’t need to be ashamed when examined. This isn’t about earning salvation—it’s about proving genuine faith through diligent commitment empowered by the Holy Spirit.
A LIVING SACRIFICE
Romans 12:1-3 shows us what that commitment looks like:
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.”
Here’s the test: Are you a living sacrifice? Or do you keep climbing off the altar when things get uncomfortable?
Are you being transformed by the renewing of your mind? Or are you still conformed to this world’s patterns?
Do you think of yourself with sober judgment? Or are you either inflated with pride or deflated with false humility?
These aren’t theoretical questions. The battles ahead will expose what’s real and what’s pretense.
THE PURPOSE OF TESTING
James 1:2-4 reveals the purpose of testing:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The purpose of testing isn’t to destroy you—it’s to develop proven character. The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Those who endure the test come out approved, refined like gold through fire.
But here’s what most believers miss: This steadfastness comes only through the Holy Spirit’s power, not human effort. The testing reveals whether you’re relying on yourself or on the Holy Spirit.
THE REAL TEST
When the test comes—and it will come—will you respond like the ten spies in fear and unbelief? Or will you respond like Caleb with “a different spirit,” empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow fully even when the cost is high?
The test isn’t whether you see the obstacles. Everyone sees the obstacles. Everyone faces the giants. Everyone encounters opposition.
The test is whether you have the different spirit—the Holy Spirit—empowering you to follow Jesus Christ fully despite what you see.
THE DANGER OF NEGLECTING THE SPIRIT
This is why neglecting the Holy Spirit is so dangerous. Without Him, you’re trying to pass tests in your own strength. Without Him, you’re attempting to follow Jesus Christ with human willpower. Without Him, you’re claiming faith while operating in the flesh.
The battles ahead will expose this immediately. Compromised Christianity that ignores the Holy Spirit will collapse under pressure. Religious performance without the Holy Spirit’s power will fail the test. Claimed faith without the Holy Spirit’s work will be proven false.
But those who have the different spirit—the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and leading them—will follow fully. They’ll see the same giants and trust God anyway. They’ll face the same opposition and remain faithful. They’ll encounter the same tests and come through approved.
APPLICATION
- Do you have the different spirit? Is the Holy Spirit actively working in your life?
- Are you trying to follow Jesus Christ in your own strength?
- When tests come, do you respond in fear like the ten spies or in faith like Caleb?
- Are you a living sacrifice that stays on the altar—or do you keep climbing off when it gets uncomfortable?
- Are you being transformed by the renewing of your mind, or still conformed to the world?
The commitment required for the battles ahead cannot be manufactured by human effort. It can only be sustained by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in you.
Follow fully. But recognize that you can only follow fully by the power of the different spirit—the Holy Spirit—whom God has given to those who obey Him.
Testing reveals whether you’re willing to follow. Consecration is actually becoming that fully devoted follower—moving from proven commitment to complete surrender.
TOMORROW: Element 7: The Consecration of Commitment – The Nazirite Vow
We’ll discover what it means to be wholly given over to God—not just avoiding sin, but actively devoted.
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