Cleave Unto the Lord - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Aug 10
- 10 min read
Cleave Unto the Lord
Part 1
Acts 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
A. The EXTENSION of the Hand of God
· 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
It was the result of a bunch of preachers:
a. preaching the word – God will honor the preaching of His Word.
b. preaching the Lord Jesus – They preached that Jesus was Lord.
NOTE: They hadn’t been told that they could preach to the wrong people.
They preached to the Gentiles.
I’m grateful that the hand of God is not limited to just the “elect!!”
NOTE: You can’t preach the Gospel to the “wrong people!”
His hand reached further down than mine could reach up.
Isaiah said in Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:”
NOTE: A great number BELIEVED and TURNED to the Lord.
Faith and repentance are two sides to the same coin, but they are not the same thing.
These people REPENTED.
SEE Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
TURNED: to reverse, to convert
· 1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
It brought about a transformation.
Notice how much change it brought about.
NOTE: If you didn’t get CHANGED, you didn’t get SAVED!
B. The EXHIBITION of the Grace of God
· 23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God,
In this passage, we see the TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE GRACE OF GOD on full display!!
· 22 …they HEARD the Tidings with their ears…
This was before internet; social media; telephones; telegraphs; newspapers.
Antioch is approximately 450 miles as the crow flies; 500-600 miles depending on the route taken.
By foot or caravan, it would take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to travel that distance.
They were still talking about it when they got to Jerusalem!!
Antioch was in Syria, which is modern day Turkey.
The Hand of God and the Grace of God was so transforming that the news traveled BY WORD OF MOUTH internationally.
People were talking about it in other nations.
· 23 …they SAW the Testimony with their eyes
ILLUSTRATION: In baseball, they send a scout out to see if the reports are true.
Barnabas was the scout, coming to see if the hype was real.
The GRACE of God was so real that Barnabas SAW IT.
· The inanimate became animated.
· The abstract became concrete.
We are talking about GRACE THAT WORKS!!!
When the Grace of God gets ahold of you, PEOPLE WILL SEE IT AND TALK ABOUT IT!
What are people saying about the Grace of God that has been shown unto you?
C. The EXHILARATION of the Man of God
· 23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad,
GLAD: to rejoice exceedingly
I believe ole Barnabas had a shouting fit!!
There’s nothing that will make a man of God any happier than seeing God’s grace in action.
He was glad because then he knew that the tidings that he had heard WERE TRUE.
By the way – Barnabas was so glad, that he stayed!!
He decided to stay and start a Principles of Growth Discipleship program.
They were first called Christians at Antioch!
Not Jerusalem – where thousands and thousands were saved.
They were called Christians in a hole in the road town in Turkey where the Grace of God was extended!!
There is still nothing that makes a man of God happier than to see people saved and growing in grace!
· 3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2
· 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
· 20 For ye are our glory and joy.
If you are here, and you are still lost, you are ignoring:
· The preaching of the word
· The preaching of the Lord Jesus
· The hand of God being manifested
· The changed lives of those around you
· The grace of God that is making headlines around the world.
· The great multitude of other believers that will be glad and rejoice in your salvation!
D. The EXHORTATION to the People of God
· 23 …and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
He exhorted THEM ALL.
He wasn’t satisfied with just a few cleaving to the Lord – he wanted ALL of them.
CAN YOU IMAGINE a preacher from 450 miles away walking into a group of new converts that were so transformed, that it made international news, and tell them that they need to CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD!!??
There must be more to it than meets the eye!
Cleave Unto the Lord
Part 2
Intro: Why would a bunch of pagan Grecians that just got saved be interested in “cleaving unto the Lord?”
A. The Truth that was Preached
I don’t know if these ole boys realized how close they come to never getting saved.
The preachers that preached the Lord Jesus to them didn’t know that Cornelius had been saved.
They didn’t know that the preachers that they heard preach was only targeting the Jews only.
It’s a miracle that these Grecians ever even heard the Gospel.
The fact that God was good enough to let them hear it should have been enough to “cleave unto the Lord.”
And the fact that God manifested His hand to them was even more of a reason.
They saw His hand – it makes you wonder, if His hand is that amazing, what is the rest of Him like??
B. The Transformation that was Proof
They experienced an undeniable transformation.
It wasn’t a figment of their imagination.
It wasn’t mind over matter.
The HAND OF GOD had been shown unto them.
The GRACE OF GOD had been poured out on them.
It was real!! It was powerful!
Churches in foreign countries were hearing about it.
Pastors were sending scouts to verify the authenticity of their salvation.
And when the scouts showed up, they SAW that it was the Grace of God.
The scouts got excited about it.
A God that could bring about that kind of change MUST BE WORTH LOOKING INTO!!
C. The Teaching that was Provoking
Let’s be honest – imagine being a new convert.
You’ve been wrapped up in dead, dry, false religion your whole life.
You hear the Gospel, believe it, and your life is transformed.
The transformation is so powerful that it is making headlines in other countries.
They send a preacher to confirm the legitimacy of your salvation.
And a preacher shows up, gets excited about your salvation, and you find out there is more!!
He exhorts you to “cleave unto the Lord.”
Also – anybody that would travel 450 miles to see if it was real might know a thing or two about it!!
· Imagine finding out that there is MORE than what you’ve already experienced!!
· Imagine finding out that it doesn’t have to wear off or get old or lose its appeal!
· Imagine hearing that the God that saved you wants you to CLEAVE TO HIM!!
It’s not religion – it is a RELATIONSHIP!
It’s more than a creed – it is a CLOSENESS!
It is more than a pastime; it can last a LIFETIME!!
So. what does it mean to “CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD?”
· 23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Let’s look at the FIRST MENTION PRINCIPLE of the word CLEAVE:
· Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
We will look at the definition of the word CLEAVE in the First Mention and see the correlation.
It starts with…
I. A Purposed Pursuit
· Therefore shall a man LEAVE his father and mother, AND CLEAVE…
CLEAVE: follow closely, join to, overtake, catch
Just like a man follows a woman he’s interested in, overtakes her and catches her, that’s what CLEAVE means.
Just like a man leaves his parents and pursues his wife, we’ve got to want GOD more than anything else.
A man leaves his parents and CLEAVES unto his wife because she is a FAR SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE!
Just like your parents cannot take the place of your wife, the idols of the world cannot meet your needs.
Just like you can’t bring your idols with you when you get saved, you can’t bring all your other loves with you when you pursue God.
You cannot CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD with your arms full of other relationships.
You have to purpose in your heart that He is worth more than anybody or anything else.
Before there can be a CLEAVING, there must first be a LEAVING!!
Look at what God said to the Nation of Israel about this.
Deuteronomy 4
· 3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
· 4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
The story he was referring to was a plague that killed 24,000 people.
Turn to Numbers 25:1-13
READ Deuteronomy 13:4-11; 17
You can’t pursue God and CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD with your hands cleaving unto idols.
· Deuteronomy 13:17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand:
II. A Pleasurable Presence
· Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Let’s keep looking at the DEFINITIONS of the word.
CLEAVE: stay close; keep close
Once a man has left his father and mother, he focuses entirely on his wife.
They move in together. NOT BEFORE!!
They eat together. They talk together. They sleep together.
They worship together. They pray together. They do everything together.
They chose to get married because they wanted to be together.
In fact, their vows included the phrase, “to have and to hold…”
Once a person discovers the joy of being in the constant presence of God, they won’t have a problem CLEAVING.
The presence of God shouldn’t just be on Sundays and Wednesday nights.
It can be all day, every day.
NOTE: If God was willing to allow Adam and Eve to enjoy His presence walking in the garden EVERY DAY, how much more can a born-again, child of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit enjoy THE DAILY PRESENCE OF GOD??
If being in the presence of God cramps your style, something is wrong!
If the presence of God makes your uncomfortable, something’s wrong!
If the presence of God makes you want to run in the opposite direction, like JONAH, get right with God!!
A taste of God’s presence should create a desire for even more.
III. A Persistent Pressing
Let’s go back to that FIRST MENTION PRINCIPLE of the word CLEAVE:
· Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Once you’ve found Him, and once you’ve encountered His Presence, you just don’t ever want to let go.
The Bible says, “and they shall be one flesh.”
Let’s keep looking at the DEFINITIONS of the word CLEAVE.
CLEAVE: to cling, stick to, stick with
Two becomes one.
CLEAVING UNTO THE LORD should create a closeness where you and God are INSEPARABLE.
Ephesians 5
· 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
· 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
· 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
· 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Just because a man and woman are married doesn’t mean they are close.
Positionally, we are ONE with Christ.
But we can get cold, indifferent, backslid.
The CLEAVING doesn’t have to just be POSITIONALLY, but it can be EXPERIENTIALLY.
Here is what Joshua told the children of Israel to do:
· Joshua 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
The secret to CLEAVING UNTO THE LORD is to hate anything that tries to drive a wedge.
· Psalms 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
· Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Conclusion: It is your choice. “…exhorted them all…that they WOULD cleave unto the Lord.”
Not, if the could – God has made it where we can.
The question is – that they WOULD CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD.
NOTE this visual image straight from the voice of God.
· Jeremiah 13:11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
God wants it. God desires it. God has done everything possible to CAUSE IT.
ILLUSTRATION: Matt holding his newborn baby Jack Malachi on the Friday he was born.
Just a few hours hold. Grabbed his finger.
The look on Matt’s face was priceless. He looked at his wife and in awe said, “He grabbed my finger!”
I wonder how God feels when we reach out and grab ahold of Him?
I wonder what it does to God when we cleave to Him?
How close can you get to God? You can hug Him! You can hold Him.
You can CLEAVE UNTO HIM.
If you WOULD.