HERE THERE BE GIANTS
Sermon Preached 25 July 2004
Naylor and Wright's Chapel UMC

Scripture

Numbers 13:1-3
"The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites."

Numbers 13:25-33
"At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. [NOTE: The Anak were giants. Following their defeat by the nation of Israel 40 years after this passage, those left alive migrated to Philisti. Goliath, the giant David slew, was a direct descendant of the Anakites] The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Illustration
-- in the days before Christopher Columbus discovered America, mapmakers didn't really have good idea of what existed past the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean -- ships in that time didn't sail that far away from land, so no one really knew what lay west of the civilized world
-- so when the mapmakers were faced with the prospect of drawing maps for navigation, they drew in what they expected to be there -- based on rumors and myths and tales that the sailors told
-- some of the mapmakers assumed that the earth was flat, and that if you sailed far enough west, you would fall off the edge of the earth -- they drew an abrupt line on their map and wrote along the western extent "Here there be danger -- here be the end of the earth"
-- others had heard rumors of distant lands on the other side of the ocean -- lands rumored to be filled with gold and silver, precious jewels, and exotic spices -- and so, some mapmakers drew in a land mass on the western edge of their map, far on the other side of the ocean
-- but, since they wanted everyone to be aware of the dangers that could exist on the path, on the far edges of the western Atlantic they wrote, "Here there be sea serpents" and they drew pictures of fearsome beasts frolicking in the waves
-- on the distant land, they drew pictures of bags of gold and silver -- of precious jewels -- and jars of spices -- but they noted in text on the land, "Here there be giants"

The Truth of God's Promises/Spies in the Land
-- in this passage we just read from book of Numbers, see similar situation -- Israelites knew what was in the land -- land that was promised to them by God to be flowing with milk and honey -- to be rich beyond their wildest dreams -- and they knew what was there, because they had sent spies into the land to find out exactly what was going on in the land
-- land promised to them by God -- promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and now it was time for the nation of Israel -- who had just been led by Moses out of Egypt to the very border of the promised land -- to go in and take possession of what was rightfully theirs
-- all they had to do was enter into the Promised Land -- doubted God -- so God told Moses to send spies into the land -- good idea to Moses -- didn't just want to go blindly into the land, leading all the thousands of men and women and children into unknown territory -- one from each tribe -- to see what the land was like and to see what the inhabitants were like -- to see if what God had promised was true or not -- and to report back

Good report of spies
-- in this passage, we see all twelve spies come back in agreement -- yes, this was the promised land -- this was a land flowing with milk and honey -- this was a bountiful land, filled with vegetables and fruits and nuts -- cluster of grapes so big they had to carry it on a pole -- a land in which they could settle -- a land in which they could create a new life -- it was just as God had promised
-- we can always trust in God's promises -- we can always trust in what He says -- if He tells us that there is a promised land flowing with milk and honey and that He will lead us to it, then it will come to pass

Giants in the Land
-- after sharing all of this great news about the promised land with the people of Israel, ten of the spies stood up and said, "BUT... but, here there be giants"

Giants in our lives
-- doesn't that always seem to be the case -- every time it looks like our lives are heading in the right direction -- things are just going our way -- God is starting to do great things through us and in our churches -- and then obstacles pop up between us and where we want to go -- barriers come up -- trials and tribulations -- it seems like everytime God calls us and makes a promise in our lives, something comes up that stops us from getting there -- that keep us from the promised land -- some of these obstacles are so big that they can even look like giants

Giants in Call to Ministry
-- for example, think about your walk with God -- whenever God calls you to do something new -- start Bible study -- Sunday School teacher -- VBS teacher -- go to walk to Emmaus -- go to Promise Keepers -- how many obstacles come up in your path -- how many giants do you see in front of you?

-- some of these were giants of our own making -- fear -- doubt -- insecurity
-- some of these were thrown at us by the world or by satan -- personal problems -- family problems -- sickness -- job concerns -- financial concerns

Personal Call to ministry
-- I remember when I was called into the ministry -- I had no doubt of my calling, but as I looked at my life, I saw nothing but giants between me and the place where God was calling me
-- in addition to all the doubts about my abilities to be a preacher, we had just moved back to Georgia after several years away, and my wife wasn't adjusting real well to extreme south Georgia -- we weren't real sure it was a place we were going to stay -- we were in a good church with lots of great friends who supported us, and going into the ministry would mean saying good-bye -- I was working on establishing a new position with the Air Force and was putting in over 40 hours every week -- now I would have even less time with my wife -- and, to top it all off, we were in the middle of the adoption process, adopting a special needs child who would require an extreme amount of time and dedication on our part
-- when I heard God calling me into the ministry, all I could say was, "Here there be giants."
-- we all have giants in our lives -- even the Israelites had giants in their path -- the question is, "what do we do with those giants?"

Response to Giants
-- the spies came back and 10 out of the 12 said, "It's a wonderful place that you have called us to, God, BUT the giants are too big. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, God, but we can't go there. The people are too strong. The descendants of Anak are there. Here there be giants." -- the ten came back with the message of the world -- "there is no hope -- you can't succeed -- there are too many giants in your way"
-- but, with God there is always hope
-- giants can be easy to slay...when you know the secret

Brooke's Nightmares
-- shortly after we adopted Brooke, she started having terrible nightmares and dreams born out of the abuse and neglect that she had suffered in her life -- and in her mind -- in her dreams -- there were monsters and devils chasing her, coming after her, to hurt her
-- so we went and got the VeggieTales story, "Where is God when I'm scared" and watched it together -- Veggie Tales is biblically based computer animation where vegetables are the main characters -- in this story, Junior Asparagus goes to bed and every shadow that he sees on the wall looks like a monster -- and every sound he hears sounds like a monster coming after him -- but as the story progresses, he learns that God is bigger than any monster there is, real or imagined
-- and so when Brooke would tell me about her dreams and nightmares, we would talk about this story and we would sing the theme song for the cartoon -- it goes something like this -- "God is bigger than the boogie man -- He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on t.v. -- yes, God is bigger than the boogie man -- and He's watching out for you and me"

Joshua and Caleb Urge Faithfulness
-- you know, there's an awful lot of truth in that little song -- in fact, that's exactly what the other two spies -- Joshua and Caleb -- said to the nation of Israel
-- look down in Chapter 14 at verse 6

Numbers 14:6-9
"Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

-- all twelve spies went into the land and saw the same thing -- they all went to the same places
-- but Joshua and Caleb came back with a different report, "Yes, there are giants in the land -- but God is bigger than any giants that are there -- and if we trust in God and we trust in His promises, then He will give us the victory" -- instead of listening to the voice of the world they listened to the voice of truth -- the voice that said, "do not be afraid -- this is for my glory"
-- Caleb and Joshua trusted that God would take care of the giants and the Hittites and the Canaanites and the Amalekites and Jebusites and the Amorites and the mosquito bites and anything else that was there
-- Yes, here there be giants -- but here there be God -- and look what they say in verse 9 "the Lord is with us -- do not fear them" -- in other words, our God is so much bigger and so much greater and so much more powerful than all those in the land -- Yes, we can go here, if we go in the power of God -- reminds me of Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Opportunities for God to Work
-- the first ten spies looked at the land and all they saw were giants -- all they saw were obstacles preventing them from coming into the promised land -- but Joshua and Caleb looked at the land and they saw opportunities for God to work, just as He had been doing in their lives all along -- if they but trusted in God's word, He would bring them into the land just like He had brought them out of Egypt -- just like He had brought them safely through the Red Sea -- just like He had brought them through the wilderness to the border of the Promised Land -- the giants were just another opportunity for God to receive glory for Himself
-- once heard a sermon by John Maxwell -- he said, "Do you have trials and tribulations in your life? -- then rejoice, because you are a candidate for a miracle" -- because of the giants they were facing, Caleb and Joshua believed they were candidates for a miracle

God slays giants
-- God does miracles everyday -- God slays giants every day -- in the Bible we read of Him slaying a giant through a shepherd boy with only a sling and five stones -- and if He is able to do that, then He is able to slay all the giants in your path -- giants can't stop us if we rely on God to work through us

Closing
-- today you may be facing giants in your life or in your church or in your ministry -- today you may be facing obstacles that seem insurmountable -- you may be faced with situations where it seems like nothing will ever come out all right
-- but when we're faced with giants -- no matter what they are -- we need to remember what Joshua and Caleb told the nation of Israel, "God is bigger than all of that -- God is bigger than all the giants -- God is bigger than the boogie man -- and God will take care of the situation -- if you trust Him and if you let Him"
-- your giants may not go away today -- they may exist for some time -- there may be lessons you have to learn from your giants -- when the Israelites did finally go into the land, the giants were still there -- still had to fight them, but they did it with God's power -- one thing is for certain -- no matter what giants you might have in your life or your ministry or your church -- your giants are not too big for God to take care of
-- as the Apostle Paul says in the Book of Romans, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us -- For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation [including giants], will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
-- as we close, I am going to ask you to bring to mind any giants that you might have in your life -- and I'm going to ask you -- as I pray -- to release those giants up to God -- to trust that nothing can stand against His power -- to trust that if God has called you into the promised land that He Himself will slay your giants -- to trust that in Him, you ARE more than