In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the story of Caleb from the Bible. Caleb, at the age of 85, declares that he feels as strong as he did 40 years ago and believes he can still fight giants. The speaker emphasizes the idea that when we serve God and experience His anointing, our youth is renewed like the eagles. The sermon also mentions the story of the twelve spies sent into Canaan, where ten of them gave negative reports due to fear of the giants in the land. The speaker encourages listeners to be different from the world and live a Christ-like lifestyle.

Morning. Who's your favourite Bible character? I know that I identify too easily with several of them. I identify too easily with Peter. He's a guy with a foot-shaped mouth. I often say things out of place, I know that. I often think of Barak, you do not know who Barak was. Barak was a man who helped to build the walls in Nehemiah. I've recorded of him that he worked the more earnestly. I like a man who works the more earnestly. But I think my favourite character is the man called Caleb. Caleb was one of the twelve spies that were sent into Canaan just after the Children of Israel came out of Egypt. They'd come across the Red Sea, they'd seen the miracle of the deliverance of God. They'd complained a little bit about the fact not being water and Moses brought water from the rock. And then he picks out twelve, one from each tribe. And he sends them into Canaan to spy out the land. For it's God's purpose for them to go from Egypt into the Promised Land. The men come back from the Promised Land and they make their different reports. And we read it in Numbers, chapter 13. Maybe I should just read to you a little bit there. And they come back from there. And of the twelve spies, ten of them gave negative reports. They'd all seen the same things in the land. They'd seen the honey, they'd seen the great bunches of grapes. They'd seen a very prosperous land. Compared with the desert where they were now walking, this was certainly somewhere to be desired. But they'd also seen giants in the land. And ten of them came back and they were full of fear because of the giants. And they made a negative report. They said the Amalekites dwell in the land, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites, they dwell in the mountains. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea in the coast of Jordan. The people be too great for us. Verse 30 of chapter 13. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses. And said, let us go up at once, for we are well able to overcome it. This is Caleb. Man whom I love greatly. In chapter 14, God speaks to Moses concerning these people. And he says, because they have not trusted in me, they shall not enter into my promises. In fact, they're going to walk for another 40 years in the wilderness. It's not a pleasant place. Sand in your mouth, sand in your shoes. Oh, God provides for them. He provides quails and manna. But I think after a few days of quails and manna, I'd get a little fed up of the diet. And that's what they had for 40 years. Journey from oasis to oasis to oasis. And as God brings his judgment upon them, because of their lack of trust and their unwillingness to go into the land that he has called them into and promised them, this is what he says concerning them. Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness. All have been numbered of you, according to your whole number, from 20 years old and upward. They have murmured against me. They shall surely die. Doubtless you shall not come into the land. I'm looking at chapter 14 of Numbers. Verse 30. You shall not come into the land, concerning which I swear to make you dwell there, save Caleb, the son of Jethunah and Joshua. The son of Nun. Caleb. My biblical favorite character. 45 years later, the children of Israel have come finally into the land. There's nobody there now more than 60 years of age. Everybody over, more than 40 years of age, I'm sorry. Everybody, 60 years of age. Everybody over 20, the time of this coming out of Egypt, has now died. Except Caleb and Joshua. Moses has died. Aaron has died. And Joshua has been used of God to bring them into land. He has taken over from Moses. And now they have conquered various parts of the land of Canaan. But there is left much to do. And Joshua is near the end of his days. When Caleb, at the age of 85, comes to him with a request, and I'd like to read you this request. It's found in Joshua chapter 14. Let's start verse 6. Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb, the son of Jethunah, the Canaanite, said unto him, You know the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the man of God, concerning me and thee, Joshua, at Kedesh-Banir. This is when they just came out of Egypt. I was 40 years old then, when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kedesh-Banir to spy out the land. And I brought him wood again, as was in my heart. As did you, Joshua. Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt. But I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day to me, made a promise, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance and thy children's forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, Joshua, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, he's 40 and 5 years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. And lo, now I am this day 4 score and 5 years old. 85 years old. The oldest man living among them. And yet, I am as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent to me, 45 years ago. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go in and to come out. Now, therefore, give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day. For you heard in that day how the Anakins were there, the cities were great and fenced. If so be that the Lord will be with me, then I shall drive them out, as the Lord said. I'm 85 years of age, but I feel like 44 years of age. And I want that mountain where the Anakins dwell. And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son of Jethunah Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron, therefore, became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jethunah, the Canaanite, unto this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. The word Hebron means a place of fellowship. It literally means a place of fellowship. And I believe it represents to us the highest calling to a Christian of fellowship with God. It is a place of intimate relationship with Him. But such communion, such fellowship, such a mountain is only given to the men and women of God who are of the seed of Caleb. Are you? Am I? Of the seed of Caleb. I'm sure if I asked you individually this morning, do you hunger for close fellowship with God? I think most of you would probably say yes. To know Him more. To delight in His presence. To know the warmth of His embrace. To have intimacy with Him, to hear His heartbeat. To know what's upon His heart, that you and I can pray it into reality. Wouldn't it be wonderful? But I believe such fellowship, such Hebron, only belongs to those who are of the seed of Caleb. Have the character, have the nature of Caleb. Let me take you back through his life and let us see what the word teaches about the character of Caleb and of his seed. First thing I notice about him is that he's of the people of Judah, the tribe of Judah, of the 12 tribes. Judah was the senior tribe out of whom came Jesus. It's not the priestly tribe, they were the Levites. It's very striking to me that the word Judah means, literally means, praise. The first thing I find about this man, he's a child of the people of praise. Are you a man of praise, of worship? Are you a woman of praise? I taught you some weeks ago concerning the fullness of the Spirit, the three evidences given to us in Paul's letter to the Galatians. He says that be filled with the Spirit. Keep on being filled with the Spirit. The next verses give us the evidence of a Spirit-filled life. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord is the first of those evidences. A worshiping attitude. When you come to church on Sunday morning, do you find your heart lifted up in praise to the God we come to worship? Or is that a part of the service you want to do out and just wait until the preaching of the word? Do you find it easy in your quiet time to worship the Lord, to praise Him? Do you listen to Christian music on your radio, on your car, so that you can enjoy the music? Or do you do it in order that it might encourage you to respond to yourself in worship and praise? Or do you find yourself a lot of times saying, oh, those old-fashioned songs or those new-fashioned songs? It amazes me how many people get uptight about music in church. To people of my age, some of the modern songs are very strange. But I said, remember when I was a young Christian at 17, some of the songs we sang were very strange too. I told you the story about singing on a train coming back from a little meeting and I was taking part and I was 17 years of age, 18 maybe. It was a public train but we were so enthused about that day that a group of young people at the back of the train, we were singing. Totally oblivious to the fact that a lot of people on the train weren't even Christians at all. And somebody struck up a song and you know what it's like when the song is pitched too high. Every single song when they pitch it too high and you have to stop halfway through. We got into the chorus and we were aiming for that high note. And everybody saw it coming. And so everybody went silent except me. And I missed it by about an octave and a half. And a dear old lady further down the compartment saw me and said, I've told you this story before some of you I know. So I went up to her and I was a brand new Christian. She said, young man, do you have a Bible? I said, yes. Bring it here. So I took my brand new virgin clean Bible to her. And she opened the back fly leaf which was spotless. I hadn't even written my name in the Bible yet because it was too holy. And in thick writing she wrote across my back page of the book, God is ready to be feared in the assembly of the saints. She has no idea, well I shouldn't say, how near I was to going out to the kingdom because my salvation was real. And I guess even that wouldn't have shaken it. But that was her attitude to me. How saddened we older people have that attitude to the songs maybe that young people have and the lives of the young people. Instead of realizing we were there once too. May I never ever grow as cantankerous as that old woman. Lord keep me sweet. I hope I am sweet. The people of Caleb are a people of praise. The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us or surely should have come to dwell in us to give us life so that we might fulfill his desires which is to praise Jesus. That's where the Holy Spirit has come. He shall not speak of himself as Jesus, he shall speak of me. He shall make me known to you. And if you claim to be men and women in whom the Spirit of God dwells then you should be men and women for whom it is natural first nature to be worshipers. Caleb was of the people of Judah. A people of praise. Secondly, I like his testimony. Not just given by him but given by God and given by Moses and himself. The same words in Numbers 14 24 this is what God says about Caleb. Consider my servant Caleb. Let me read it for you. Might as well. Numbers 14 24 This is shortly after they come back. Kedesh B'nei they come back from Canaan. Numbers 14 24 It's so good having an old Bible. This Bible is now given to me in 1961 I guess. When you have an old Bible the pages turn so easily. It's so good. 14 This is what God says concerning Caleb. Numbers 14 verse 24 My servant Caleb has another spirit with him says God. He has followed me fully. Him I shall bring into the land wherein he went and his seed shall possess it. That's the promise of God. So God's testimony of this man is this that he follows me fully. When Moses speaks of him in Deuteronomy verse 1 verse 36 Moses says concerning Caleb he follows fully after God. And in Caleb's request to Joshua he said these words. Remember what Moses said. I shall have this land because I have fully wholly followed the Lord my God. Verse 9 verse 8 speaking to Moses to Joshua. This is a man whose testimony is from God, from Moses and from his own lips I have wholly followed after the Lord. I am committed to him. I do not go down every little trail every little thing that comes along. A.W. Tozer whom I like very much listening to you can listen to his sermons on sermon index any time you want to. A.W. Tozer was a very blunt man. He was not a very pleasant man to listen to. Some of you knew Keith Price Keith Price was mentored by A.W. Tozer. I heard A.W. Tozer speak once and he made this comment to a congregation of a couple of thousand pastors of his own denomination my denomination and he said these words. We are a denomination this is how he used to speak that believes in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. There are some of you here today who are so full of the Holy Spirit that between you you would fill one fountain pen. That's pretty blunt. That was the kind of man he was. He was not a pleasant man to listen to because he preached very, very directly. He was a man who spoke that way. But he's a man who taught about falling wholly after God. And he said these words. When you see the people of God rushing after the latest fad turn around and run the other way as fast as you can. Be a people who are committed to God not to every latest fashion that the church is what they promote. Be a people who are committed to God's word. Be a people who are hungry to know God. Be a people of undivided heart. Blessed are the pure in hearts of Jesus. A pure heart is one that's undivided unalloyed with different affections. And men and women who follow wholly after God are men and women who've got their eyes fixed upon him. Desiring to be like him. Desiring to be obedient to him. They are men and women who follow wholly after God. That's the seed of Caleb. I want to be such a man. I want to live my life such a way that people see Christ in me because I'm wholly following after him. Do I do it all the time? No, I do not do it all the time. But I long to be such a man. For they are the seed of Caleb. Thirdly, I find in God's testimony of him that he says consider Caleb for he has a different spirit in him. The seed of Caleb have a different spirit in them than is seen all around. These are kind of people that they stand out in any crowd whether it's a Christian crowd or a worldly crowd because they have a different spirit in them. When they're surrounded by people of envy they become a people of praise. When others envy somebody else's possession or somebody else's position these are people who support and encourage. When they hear people gossip and murmur these are the people who are silent and speak praise and support. When they hear words of enmity these are people who speak words of peace. When they see politicking going around them and people persuading them to do this and trying to pressure them to do that there are people who will live lives without guile like Jesus himself in whose mouth was found no guile. They're people of a different spirit. We should be such that when the world looks at us they see a people of a different spirit. We should be such even in the church that where we see those things that speak of carnality when we see those things that speak of the old man the old nature not having been put to death we should live lives of opposite spirit. I work a lot with Youth With A Mission. I teach at a lot of their schools and I went on board a ship in Africa for four years with them. The strength of Youth With A Mission is its young people. The weakness of Youth With A Mission is its young people. Young people make mistakes and Youth With A Mission hasn't got a clean record of no mistakes. But I sure like their teaching program because some of their teaching they're very big and teaching lifestyle that is Christ like. And they have a whole series of teaching on a contrary spirit being a man a woman of a different spirit. We need to be different than the world. We need to be different than even the carnal Christians around us. We need to be men and women committed to be different to live the lifestyle of Christ. I made a comment in Sunday school this morning. We're very, very quick to remove people from churches for heresy. If I preached heresy from your pulpit there'd be a whole murmur of discontent going in the church and I'm sure there'd be a movement to get people removed because of heresy. Heresy of teaching. Heresy of doctrine. Although we were just as quick to remove heresy of practice because we allow things to happen in the church that certainly don't bring honor to God we need to be just as quick to do that. When Christ called us to be servants when Christ called us to refresh one another when Christ commanded us to love one another if we were just as quick to judge those who would refuse to do those things we are supposed to be people of contrary different spirit to the prevailing spirit that is around. The fourth thing I find about Caleb is this. He said, though I'm 85 years of age I feel as strong as I was 40 years ago. My youth is renewed. I'm still a young man. I like to think I'm a young man. That's probably only in my mind. But Caleb said, I can fight giants I'm a young man. I'm as strong today as I was back there in Kadesh Benir. And I'm reminded of the words of the psalmist who says that God shall renew our youth like the eagles. When you're serving God when you're in a place where he wants you to be when you experience his anointing and I've taught you about anointing you begin to fly like eagles when you know he's anointed and he renews your youth. I want to be a man who knows what it is to soar in the winds of the spirit of God. I want to know what it is to soar like an eagle in my life. I want to know what it is to live my life as a 68 year old man a 70 year old man however long the Lord keeps me on this earth I want to be a man constantly who knows what it is to have my youth renewed. Oh my body aches my body begins to ache now. There are days when I don't feel like getting up but when I get involved with God's people particularly young people among God's people my heart is renewed my spirit is renewed. I want to be a man like Caleb who says his youth is renewed because God has moved it. Fifth characteristic of those who are of the seed of Caleb they hunger after Hebron they hunger after fellowship with God they want to know intimacy with God they want to spend time to get to intimacy with God they want to spend time in the word and time in prayer so they get to know his heartbeat and get to know how God feels. How are we going to ever know what's on God's heart unless we stop and take time to listen to Him? It's sad that we've taught in our churches that prayer is talking to God prayer is not talking to God prayer is intimacy with God that we develop through spending time in His presence. Prayer is communion with Him where He speaks to us as well as we speak to Him. And I thank God for people in the church who do spend that time so that they hear from God. The preacher who gets in the pulpit without having spent time to hear from God is not going to give you God's word. And the children of Caleb are people who hunger after intimacy with God. They take time to find Him they take time to wait upon Him they take time studying His word they're people of meditation people of study people of waiting upon God. These are the children of Caleb. Let me repeat those to you they are people of praise. Judah there are people who follow after God fully they have this testimony from God and from others. There are people of a different spirit in them. A godly spirit. There are people whose youth is renewed like the eagles. There are people who hunger after communion with God. And finally there are people who conquer giants. Give me this mountain says 85 year old Caleb. I've been there before I've seen it. And I know that the Anakins dwell in this mountain. And the Amalekites are at the foot of the mountain. I want this mountain! Because I'm as strong today as I was 40 years ago and God will give me this mountain for He will conquer the giant. That's the seed of Caleb. We all have giants to face. Unless of course you're walking in the wilderness there are no mountains in the wilderness. Maybe a few sand hills but you skirt around them you look for the next oasis where you can bathe your feet and eat your dates I assume that the dates are oases and kill yet another quail and go out looking for more manna. But Caleb has tasted of the grapes of Eshcol. Caleb has drunk from the rivers of Canaan. Caleb has eaten of the honey that he's found there. Caleb has come back with a glowing report. He even sees the giants as part of his diet for he says they are bred to us. Whereas the others came back with a negative report. Caleb and Joshua said yeah we've seen the giants we saw them too but they are bred to us we know that if we are going to grow we grow by dining upon the giants by defeating them not by running away. So what are your giants? What is it you find difficult to overcome? Fears? Self-image? Difficulties of your work situation? Tensions at home? What are the giants that are robbing you of your inheritance? What are the giants that are constantly defeating you? Habits? Attitudes? We're all fish giants. I am by nature a melancholic that's the personality trait I have and melancholics tend to wake up in the worst hours of every day the first hours in the morning before you get out of bed and shave you lie in bed and think oh my goodness I've got to do that today and that today and I've got to meet him today and I don't really want to do that and I've got to get that job done in my car and suddenly all these things are giants to me and it always amazes me that when I get up they've all gone by midday but that's my personality and we all have giants the most famous giant in the bible of course was Goliath and we all know the story we delight in the story we tell our children the story about this little boy David who trusted in God and he comes to Goliath and he says you come against me with sword and spear and shield but I come to you in the name of the Lord God Saul wanted to put his armour upon David and David said I can't wear what I haven't tried which I haven't proven so he casts off the armour and he comes up to Goliath with his sling and his six little stones five little stones he didn't need six or five one is all he needed one could preach a sermon and you've all heard sermons on Goliath and how David conquered it but have you ever heard of Ishbi Benob you've never heard of Ishbi Benob let me read to you about Ishbi Benob 2 Samuel you've not heard of Ishbi Benob well I've never heard of him either before so it's ok Ishbi Benob 2 Samuel 21 the Philistines had yet war again against Israel and David the Goliath killer went down and his servants with him they fought against the Philistines and David waxed faint that's a lyrical way of saying he got tired he got weary and Ishbi Benob which was of the sons of the giant the weight of whose spear weighed 300 shekels of brass in weight he being girded with a new sword he thought he had slain David well you've never heard of this one you think of David as a giant killer well he's just about dead right you know because of a giant this is a giant that defeated him so what has happened to David to make him so weak one word it's got three letters it's spelled S I N sin always weakens and he had seen Bathsheba he had lusted after her he had planned to get a husband killed at the battle front Uriah who was a servant of David was faithful and warrior for his king goes out boldly because his king has sent him to the front line of the battle and there Uriah dies serving his king so that David could steal his wife you remember how Nathan the prophet comes and brings judgment upon David David sins and when you sin brothers and sisters the giants will overcome you and David waxed weary because of sin and Ishbi Benob thought to slay him but thank God there was a man close by Abishai Abishai was David's sister's son he was a close relative he was his nephew but Abishai the son of Jerua suckered him Jerua is David's sister he smoked the Philistine and he killed him then they took David aside and said David you do not go into battle anymore for you shall quench the light of Israel if you do you will be a hindrance to us if you go into battle anymore David the giant killer had come to a place where they had to lay him aside because he was of no use in the battle because of sin it is possible brothers and sisters for you to be giant killers or to be slain by giants so I ask you again what giants do you face the greatest giant that any one of us will ever face he's got four letters to his name it is S-E-L-F self the greatest giant that will ever rob you of your victory in Christ is self that is why the Bible is full of stories telling us to put Paul's letters particularly telling us to put self to death the old man must die so that Christ can live in us the old man must be put to death so that the life of Christ and the spirit of God might radiate through us and in us to the glory of Christ I listened to a tape just the other day or a message the other day concerning dying to self I guess I guess I was fortunate in so many ways as a Christian I was nurtured in the word from early days people who believed the word of God took me and spent a lot of time with me I was nurtured into a deep life in the spirit by men who lived a deep life in the spirit and wanted me to know that life prayed me through I've always had godly men that have been an example to me that I could look to my first pastor Wynne Lewis was a bit of a radical Welshman he used to lose his cool he was an international cricket player you know the game of cricket he was a quality of cricket player I'll give you an example of my first pastor he and Mel who was an elder in my church were very fine cricket players one day we were challenged a little church only about a hundred people were challenged to a game of cricket by a local cricket team they were regular cricket players we were not and so we turned up and they didn't take us very seriously and so we were eleven players turn up a couple of our wives maybe with us and only eight of them turned up to play so when we were batting if you know the game of cricket one team goes in and bats first they had to have eleven players fielding so three of the wives put off their high heel shoes and they were in the outfield running around chasing the ball and we scored maybe seventy runs which isn't a lot in a game of cricket but then they came in to bat the first two guys all padded these were regular cricket players they were going to show us how to do this they didn't realize that Mel Morgan and Winley were both top quality bowlers outstanding players both of them and very quickly we had wickets down and they only had about forty odd runs and the seven wickets had gone down so the wives had to bat now why am I telling you this story well because if I were bowling against these wives I'd have just lobbed at the ball waiting for them to kick the ball in the air so we'd catch them up but not my pastor he was way back and then he came running and he bowled as fast as he could so the women went running the ball is hard by the way in cricket the wickets were being knocked down we won the game easily but we didn't make many friends that was the kind of guy my pastor was he was so intense he couldn't even play a game of cricket to relax and enjoy that was the kind of guy he was the kind of guy who'd say to me Gareth you're giving your testimony on Sunday in such and such a church I said well sorry pastor I'm playing football he said you'll be there or else so I was there that was the kind of guy he was but that man with all his faults he lit a fire in me for God's word and for passion for Christ I pray he will never go out that's the kind of guy I had the kind of mentor I had in my early days I had men who taught me from early days that I would take up my cross you didn't debate this you were told you have to take up your cross trouble was some of them told me that taking up my cross meant I must not smoke must not drink must not dance mustn't go with people who do those things and in my case I mustn't play soccer scribal laws New Testament scribal laws got nothing to do with righteousness by the way but there were men who taught me the word of God and told me to live a life of integrity a life of hunger and after God a life of seeking to deal with self how important it was to put self to death I listened to a tape the other day of a preacher who was preaching the same message of putting self to death and he made this comment you can always tell if a man or woman has put self to death by the way they react when prodded they react when prodded woo you know self has not died and recent issues in this church have brought to light some of the reactions of carnal self I have a poem that was written by A.B. Simpson a very godly man a hundred years ago this is his poem I read it to you I love poetry do you like poetry? when I see good poems I like to copy them out on my computer keep them A.B. Simpson there is a foe whose hidden power the Christian well may fear more subtle far than inbred sin and to the soul more dear it is the power of selfishness it is the willful I and ere my lord can live in me my very self must die there is like annaxed sons of old a race of giants still self-glorian self-confidence self-seeking and self-will still must these haughty anakin by Caleb's sword be slain ere hebron's heights of heavenly love our conquering feet shall gain oh save me from self-will dear lord which claims thy sacred throne oh let my will be lost in thine and let thy will be done oh keep me from self-confidence and self-sufficiency let me exchange my strength for thine and lean alone on thee oh save me from self-seeking lord let me not be my own a living sacrifice I come lord make me thine alone from proud vain glory save me lord from pride of praise and fame to christ be all the honour given the glory to his name oh jesus slay the self in me by thy consuming breath show me thy heart thy wounds thy shame and love my soul to death when the shekinah flame came down even moses could not stay so let thy glory fill me now and self forever slay oh jesus come and dwell in me walk in my steps each day live in my life love in my love and speak in all I say think in my thoughts let all my acts thy very actions be so shall it be no longer I but christ that lives in me amen Denzel you come and lead us and I'm going to suggest to you this morning as Denzel leads us in song that you take this moment to address the giants in your life ask yourself where do I fail to be a son of Caleb of his seed I'm going to invite you to come to the front and just spend some quiet time before God I will certainly be happy to pray with you as you seek this morning to wield the sword of Caleb to see some of these giants put to death amen