You must drive out the giants

Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak

Joshua 15:14

Once Caleb was given the land of Hebron, he drove out the children of Anak from the land. Anak was a giant, he was the son of Arba, who at the time was regarded as the “greatest man among the Anakim” (Joshua 14:15).

When the 12 spies had returned from spying the Promised Land, 10 of them came back with an evil report that they could not conquer the land because there were “giants in the land” (Numbers 13:33). As a result of their refusal to trust God completely they were forced to wander around in the wilderness for 40 years. Once they entered the Promised Land, Joshua expelled the giants from the hill country and Caleb drove them out. This teaches us a number of important lessons about life:

1. There are giants on the way to our Promised Land

In this Christian life, there are things that God may call you to do which may seem too over whelming for you to do. Whenever God calls you to do something new, there may be giant problems that you will have to encounter, i.e. lack of finances and resources and time and other problems which may seem insurmountable. However it is in those situations that we have to trust God and wait patiently on Him because He will exalt us to inherit the land:

Wait on the Lord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

Psalm 37:34

2. Giants are not there to defeat you but to promote you

Before we can move to the next dimension or level in our spiritual lives, there are certain giants that we have to slay. For example, before David became King he had to defeat Goliath who was a descendent of Anak. In our lives, before we can walk in the purpose that God has given us, we too will have to conquer the giants of fear and other emotions that will try to keep us back. We have to believe that no matter how hot the battle may get, God will be with us:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Isaiah 43:2

3. You can defeat the giants in the name of The Lord

As believers in Jesus Christ, there is no giant that is too big for us to slay. Please remember that you are more than able to defeat the giants that may be facing you right now, be it spiritual, health, financial, marital, business, or career problems. Let us put our trust in God and believe that we are more than able to overcome all the giant problems in our lives:

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

Romans 8:37 (NLT)

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ and I am anointed to defeat any giant standing in the way to my Promised Land in Jesus name.

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Once you take possession of the land it will rest from war

Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.

The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.

And the land had rest from war.

Joshua 14:13-15

Once Caleb took possession of Hebron, the land rested from war. This teaches us a number of important lessons:

1. Before a breakthrough there will be a state of chaos

In our lives as believers in Jesus Christ, there will be times when before we breakthrough to the next dimension, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. There will be a time of chaos and even confusion however this is not designed to defeat you, it is designed to promote you. You just have to resolve that by the strength of God you will breakthrough to your next level:

For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

Psalm 18:29

2. The Promised Land is a place of total rest

You see, once we get to the Promised Land in the New Jerusalem, there will be no more tears and all the chaos of this present world will cease:

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Revelation 21:4

3. We can enter into the rest of The Lord even whilst on earth

Even here on earth there is a state of great peace that we can attain once we decide to give our lives to Jesus and obey His Words. This rest and peace comes when we trust The Lord and keep our minds steadfastly on Him knowing that He will never let us down:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to fight to take possession of all the land that You have given me so that it will rest from war in Jesus name.

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Blessing

Those who follow The Lord will inherit the Land – part 1

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.

Joshua 14:12

As Joshua was dividing the land among the tribes of Israel, Caleb approached Joshua and reminded him how Moses had promised to give him the land of Hebron because he had completely followed the Lord.

The story of Caleb teaches us a number of important lessons about what it takes for us to inherit the Promised Land:

1. We must have a heart of faith concerning the promises of God

When Caleb and the rest of the 12 came back from spying the land, Caleb brought back a good report that they were able to take on the giants and to possess the land that God had promised them. Caleb “brought back word to him as it was in his heart” (Joshua 14:7). We must therefore have a heart of faith concerning the promises of God. We develop this heart of faith when we regularly read and meditate on the Word of God and listen to messages that will build up our faith. When we feast on the Word of God it will reflect in what we say:

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Luke 6:45 (NLT)

2. The land where our feet treads shall be ours

Moses had told Caleb that the land where his feet had trodden shall be his inheritance and his children forever because he had completely followed the Lord. Likewise when we follow the Lord, every land where our feet shall tread shall be ours:

I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

Joshua 1:3 (NIV)

3. We must demand the mountain

As humans we naturally want comfort and will do anything to avoid pain and hardship however this was not the attitude of Caleb. At the age of 85 years he was asking for the mountain. This teaches us that we should not settle for the valleys or the comfort zone because it doesn’t allow us to grow. When Abraham asked Lot to choose which part of the land he wanted, Lot settled for the valley, and look at what happened to Sodom and Gomorra?. We must reach out to the higher things in God:

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.

Joshua 14:12

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to follow You with my whole heart so that I too will inherit the Land in Jesus name.

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Goal Setting Workshop – Friday, November 4, 2016

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Are You Prepared for War?

The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh obeyed Moses. These men crossed the river in front of the other people. These men were prepared for war. They were going to help the rest of the Israelites take the land God had promised to give them. About 40,000 soldiers, prepared for war, passed before the Lord. They were marching toward the plains of Jericho.

Joshua 4:12-13

In this story we are told that the children of Israel were about to cross the river Jordan to go into Jericho, to take the first city that God had promised them.

Even though the men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had already secured their land on the other side of the river, they did not just sit and wait for their brothers to capture their promised land alone. Instead these men were prepared for war.

As Christians, we also have a promised land ahead of us that we have to reach. Our promised land is not made by human hands, for its architect and builder is God Himself (Hebrews 11:10); it is the New Jerusalem which is coming from heaven down to earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God Himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”

Revelation 21:1-4

This New Jerusalem, just like the promised land of old, is not easy to attain, we also must be prepared for war in order to reach it. Just like the children of Israel had to destroy the inhabitants of the land before they could possess their land, we too have spiritual giants that we must destroy in order to possess our promised land.

However unlike the Children of Israel who fought a physical fight using natural weapons with their enemies, the Bible tells us that our fight is not against human beings but spiritual forces:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places

Ephesians 6:12

What Does It Mean To Be Prepared?

To be prepared is to be ready “standing by,” ready to meet the opportunity (challenge) at hand; ready because the necessary preparations are done (or are sure to happen as needed).

What Is The War About?

War is a conflict between opposing forces.

You will see from the scripture we are about to read that the war is between God and Satan, and the war started in heaven however it has moved down to earth and we human beings are caught in it, whether we like it or not:

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Revelation 12:7-12

So, the forces involved in this war are:

1. Two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as its King and the kingdom of darkness with the great dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan as its king.
2. Two opposing Angels – Michael, the Archangel and his angels and Satan and his angels.
3. The battlefield – the war started in heaven however the battlefield is now the earth and people in the earth.
4. Battle strategy – Satan is out to deceive as many human beings as he can so that he can drag them down to hell. He continually accuses the children of God day and night. Satan’s strategy is to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus has come that we may have life in its fullness:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

John 10:10

God in His love has provided salvation, strength, Kingdom of God and the power of His Christ to all humanity who choose to believe in Jesus Christ His Son:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

How Do We Overcome Satan?

We overcome him by:

1. The Blood of The Lamb – we apply the blood of Jesus Christ when we accept that we are sinners and ask Him to forgive us and wash us clean with His blood. When we accept Him He becomes our sacrificial lamb (Hebrews 10:10).
2. The Word of our testimony – we testify when we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 10:9).
3. We do not love our lives to the death – this means that we will be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also encouraged to die daily to our flesh or natural desires (1 Corinthians 15:31).

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 16:25

Next week we’ll be looking at how you can prepare for war.

Prayer:

Dear Lord please help me to be prepared for war as the men from the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. Please help me to always be ready to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life, in Jesus name.

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