LIVING IN THE LAND OF GIANTS
Josh. 14:6-15
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: New Motivation
1. In a Florida Army training camp there was a grueling obstacle course all the recruits had to daily complete. On the final stretch of the endurance test they had to grab a rope and swing across a broad deep pond.
2. Under the glaring southern sun, the water looked so inviting to the men that most of them soon developed the habit of making it only half way across and dropping into the refreshing water. That is, until an enterprising lieutenant made the pond the new home for a large alligator!
3. From that day on the recruits left the ground on one side and fell sprawling in the dust on the other, and not even one carelessly dropped into the water!
B. TEXT
9 “So on that day [45 years before] Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ 10...So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb...and gave him Hebron as
his inheritance. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)
C. THESIS
1. Caleb represents the believer, full of faith and in communion with God. The Anakites represent the devil or the attack of adverse circumstances.
2. So we’re looking at identifying the giants in our land, why we should be willing to take on giants, and how to fight the battle with faith.
3. The title of this message is “Living in the Land of Giants.”
I. OUR PROMISED LAND STILL HAS GIANTS
A. DOUBT GIANTS
1. Imagine the people of Israel, who, after being slaves 400 years in Egypt, and spending 40 years in the wilderness finally stood at the Jordan River and looked into their new land.
2. It was a beautiful dark-green; hilly, and filled with wonderful, abundant fruit. And God said their names were on the deed. All they had to do was go in and possess it.
3. There were just a few problems – there were giants living in that land! The spiritual parallel is that you & I don't have to fight literal giants, but we have to fight temptations, discouragements, setbacks, or circumstances that make it look like God has failed or forsaken us. I call these our “doubt giants.” Or you may be facing fear giants.
B. EXAMPLES OF GIANTS
1. Or you might be a single mother facing overwhelming bills, rebellious kids, and battling questions of your self-worth.
2. You might be a Christian student facing an atheistic professor who taunts or demeans Christians in class;
3. Or a person struggling to save your marriage & your kids;
4. Or a TDCJ C.O. facing opposition from a group of inmates.
C. DON’T DELAY DEALING WITH YOUR GIANT
1. There’s all kinds of reasons people delay facing their Giants. The Israelites delayed for 5 years facing the Anakites of Kiriath-Arba because they lacked the vision of how Great their God was.
2. The bigger your God gets, the smaller your problems get! HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?
3. HUMOR
a. I heard about a Man who took his son to the Doctor because he swallowed their House Key.
b. The Doctor asked, “When did this happen?”
c. The Man answered, “About 3 Months ago.”
d. Doctor said, “Why are you finally bringing him in Now?”
e. Man said, “Because Now We’ve Lost Our Duplicate Key!”
D. CALEB LEANED ON GOD’S POWER
1. "I’m not trusting in size or human strength, but I’m trusting in the Lord God of Israel to give me victory!"
2. Like you saying, “I’m not depending on my employer, or the government, my doctor, or my medicine, or my lawyer to save me – I’m depending on the Lord!” The Lord is my provider. Whom shall I fear, and of whom shall I be afraid?
II. WHY ‘TAKE ON’ A GIANT?
A. GIANTS INDICATE A HUGE BLESSING
1. Arba was the great-grandpa (15:13; 21:11) of all the Anakites, the giants. This was where they started; their home turf. This was one of the most beautiful spots in all Israel. The enemy always wants to hold onto what’s valuable. This city of the giants – WAS THE SEEDBED OF THE POWERS OF DARKNESS.
2. It’s no accident that David was later directed by God Himself to set up the capital of his kingdom over Judah in Hebron, the City of Arba (2 Sam. 2:1) and he ruled there 7 ½ years! It was at Hebron that the Mighty Men came to David (1 Chr. 12); they were his strength in many battles. It was to Hebron that the 12 tribes came to make David king over all Israel (2 Kgs. 5:1-3), so there was a DIVINE DESTINY about this place!
3. The devil wants to thwart God’s divine destiny for your life!
4. Caleb knew, PEOPLE DON’T PUT UP SCARECROWS UNLESS THERE’S SOME GREAT BLESSING THEY’RE TRYING TO KEEP THE BIRDS AWAY FROM! It’s the same with our blessings. The enemy puts the biggest scarecrows around what’s most valuable to us! He doesn’t want us to have it.
B. A REAL GIANT ‘TAKES ON’ IMPOSTERS
1. The sons of Arba might have been ‘giant’ in body, but they were really pygmies. Caleb was the true spiritual Giant; he triumphed over them. The man is proven by the deed. It’s not the ‘size of the dog’ in the fight, but the ‘size of the fight’ in the dog!
2. The real giant was the man who saw with the dreams of God. We need to be people gripped by holy dreams. The reason the 10 spies failed to give a good report was that they looked at the inheritance with human and not divine vision!
3. Caleb walked around that beautiful mountain and its slopes and dreamed that it might be his.
4. Just as Abraham walked the length and breadth of the land and claimed it, so did Caleb. Have you “walked out” what you want God to do for You?
C. DO YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL GOAL/ MOUNTAIN?
1. 45 years later Caleb cried, "GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN!" i.e. – He wanted God’s blessing!
2. Do you have a Mountain/ Ultimate purpose God wants you to accomplish during your lifetime?
3. WHAT IS YOUR MOUNTAIN?
a. To see your family saved? To be a prolific soul winner?
b. To serve as a Teacher in the church?
c. To win boys and girls to Christ? University?
d. To go out in the neighborhoods and help the needy?
e. To go into the prisons? To become a missionary or to help sponsor the missionaries?
4. “I WANT A GLORIOUS INHERITANCE!” (not mediocre)
5. "Tis only one life, t’will soon be passed, and only what's done for Christ will last." Paul said, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" Phil. 3:12. Later he said, "I have finished my course" -- his circuit, his race, like a runner. Can you say that?
III. HOW TO FIGHT THE BATTLE BY FAITH
A. FAITH TO FACE OUR PROBLEMS
1. Caleb saw no problem taking on the biggest and baddest giants because his God was so big. It’s was a small thing for the Maker of the stars to whip the mightiest opponents.
2. It doesn’t matter what trial we face – our God is well-able to give us the victory. It doesn’t matter if it’s...
-- marriage problems,
-- financial trouble,
-- sickness or disease,
-- job or family problems,
-- depression or temptation.
3. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” God says, “I will give you every place you set the sole of your foot. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life...” Josh. 1:3a,5.
4. YOU can decide to live SMALL, or you can decide to live big. THINK big, BELIEVE big, PLAN big, and DO big things. How big is your God? He’s challenging you to get out of your boat and walk on the water.
B. LIVING IN THE PLACE OF VICTORY
1. Caleb wanted to LIVE in the place of VICTORY! What an ambition! He didn’t just want to occasionally have a victory; instead, he wanted to LIVE there 24-7-365!
2. Most people only VISIT places like this once or twice in their lives, but Caleb wanted to live there -- to live in the place of miracles. “Oh it can’t be done!” It all depends on who your God is!
3. Caleb might have been a short Jew, but in the realm of faith, he was a giant!
C. HE TOOK THE PROMISE AS A GUARANTEE OF VICTORY
1. God had promised him 45 years before; “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever.’ (Deut. 1:36). Caleb never forgot it, even during all the years in the wilderness.
2. Caleb speaks it in Josh. 14:12 as God’s promise to him of victory, “I will drive them out JUST AS HE SAID.” POINT: If God promises you something, He will also give you the power to win the battle! Claim that blessing.
D. STRONG TO THE END
1. Another thing I love about Caleb; He was ready to fight in his prime (40) and ready to fight in old age (85).
2. Why? Because he stayed in the battle! a. We dare not start laying out -- or your dead. b. Caleb's an example for us: You can be just as ‘on fire’ for God when your old as when you're first saved! Just as vigorous…fresh!
3. Caleb inherited great things from God. Why? Because he stayed in God's battle to the end. Let’s follow his example!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A pastor told of when his daughter Melody, age 5, came to him and asked for a dollhouse. He promptly agreed to build her one, and then went back to reading his book.
2. A few minutes he saw her out his study with her arms filled with dishes, toys, and dolls, making trip after trip to pile her toys out in the yard. He asked his wife what Melody was doing.
3. "Oh, you promised to build her a dollhouse, and she believed you. So she's getting ready for it." The pastor said, "You would have thought I'd been hit by an atom bomb."
4. "I threw aside that book, raced to Home Depot for supplies, and quickly built her a dollhouse. Why? Because her daddy had given his word, she believed it, and acted upon it. WHEN I SAW HER FAITH, NOTHING COULD KEEP ME FROM CARRYING OUT MY WORD!" (Nelsons, p. 285).
5. THAT’S HOW GOD RESPONDS TO OUR FAITH TOO! Begin to move out to do what God’s called you to do!
B. THE CALL
1. What giants are you facing? Are you in debt? Suffering abuse or rejection? Have a troubled kid? Battling fears? Health issues? Habits? Failure or depression?
2. Come stand at the front to represent your need and let’s go to God to start our journey to victory!
3. Prayer for impossible needs to be met and for individual salvations.
