The Giants in the Land
by Pastor Young Joon Park
April 25, 2010

An officer who had fought in many battle grounds invited his soldiers to his house. One of his soldiers wants to have one of many Military medals that he was decorated with, if he could. And the man was very excited because he told to go ahead and pick any one of his choice and needless to say, chose one.

What is our church Motto?

To Know Jesus Christ and To Live Like Jesus Christ

I really want to be like Jesus, and this is not just my desire for you and me, but for all Christians.

It means that we need to pay the cost of our life to be like Him.

Jesus spoke to us very clearly.

Luke 9:23-25

²³ And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

²⁴ “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

²⁵ “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

When we believe in Jesus, we start entering the battleground.

When you enter the battleground,

· You cannot live by your own will, but you have to follow the authority

· It is not about you, but about Jesus and Kingdom of God

· You are going to face your enemies. Destroy your enemies or be destroyed by them.

God gave us a series of messages for months from the Exodus to enter the Promised Land. Last several weeks God gave us the messages about our spiritual armors. We have to understand the Word of God and submit our life to the Lord because the Bible is God’s Prophetic Words. 

Prayer

God, today we ask for a breakthrough in the heavenly realm in the area of prophetic destiny. Father, I'm asking in the Name of Jesus for a tearing down of the demonic strongholds and mindsets that are in opposition to Your Promises. We want to expose and break the demonic oppositions, strongholds, and mindsets of the enemies that are keeping us from inheriting the land of promise. So I am asking You to come, Holy Spirit. Anoint us with revelation and the power of God so that we can destroy every scheme and tactic of the devil that wants to keep us from what You promised in Your Word and what You promised us out of the mouths of the prophets. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

I. The Promised Land

The Promised Land is our inheritance, our prophetic destiny.

Promised word from the Lord, but many of them did not come to pass yet.
It's what God has promised us in His word and what He has spoken to us through His prophets. The Bible is full of God's Promises and we want to inherit the God's Promised Land. Many believers have promised prophetic word from the Lord. However, many of the words have not yet come to pass. So sometimes we cried out to the Lord, "Father, when am I going to have that promise? When are You going to do what You promised our church, Father?"

How am I going to receive Your Promises?

There is a demonic strategy to keep us from entering the Promised Land and God wants to show us how to overcome. There are schemes and tactics of the devil to oppose and hinder us from entering into everything that God has for us. We need to take back the land that the enemy has taken from us.

II. Mapping the Promised Land
Numbers 13:22

And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt).

Number 13:27-29

²⁷ Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

²⁸ “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

²⁹ “Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

The First attempt to enter the Promised Land

2 years later after the Exodus from Egypt, they were at the River Jordan. Let's take a look at what the twelve spies faced after they were commissioned to spy on the land:

There was a whole spiritual dynamic operating over Hebron.

Demonic oppression

Because of the giants' wicked influence, this place was a stronghold for demonic oppression and, in fact, Hebron actually means the city of four and "seat of association."

Godly background

It's where the patriarchs and the past history makers were buried.

Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah

That's where the past revivalists, the godly seed and the godly inheritance were buried.

In the very place where there was revival and the very place in history where the Holy Spirit came and moved in revival, we have even today, a stronghold in that city and region. At one time it was vibrant and alive with the power and fire of the Holy Ghost. Now it's dead, it's in sin and it's darker than it was 100 years ago. The devil wants to have a stronghold in the place where God previously poured out his Spirit, and in the future will pour out his Spirit again!

Giants’ demonic influence

They proceeded to Hebron and they saw that the whole area was overtaken by giants, the descendants of Anak. These giants walked in such great darkness that they possessed substantial demonic authority that strengthened the principalities and powers over that region.

III. Walk by intimidation

Numbers 13:22

And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.).

Numbers 13:31-33

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”

³² So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.

³³ “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Spies’ intimidation by the demonic giants
When the spies entered this area, instead of breaking through spiritually and remembering that God promised them the land by faith, they came under the existing demonic strongholds. All but two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, became completely intimidated by the giants' huge stature...Everyone wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:1-10) because those bad report (Numbers 13:25-33) from all ten of the spies besides Joshua and Caleb were very convincing.

Lost the spiritual battle without giving a fight

Unfortunately, ten of the spies became deceived and believed that they could not overcome the enemy because they forgot how great God is. The enemy won that particular battle without laying one finger on the emerging nation of Israel. Talk about a battle for their minds!

Our useless fighting

We fight our mind against God’s Will constantly.

Our understanding and our wisdom is not perfect and unclear. Where does fear comes to our life? We think or believe that our understanding and wisdom is better than God’s.

We are in fear because we rely on our calculation with my brain. We have to lay down our deceived mind of our belief that we are smarter than God.

Who is smarter, God or you?

You might say, “I do not believe that I am smarter than God.”

If you do not rely on Him, but insist on outcome of your calculation, then it is the sign that you believe that you are smarter than God. The rebellious people always claim that about his/her opinion so strongly because of their intimidation. These 10 spies are the exact example of those who believed themselves better than God and they relied on themselves alone. They actually believed that their deceptive calculation is absolutely correct.

Do you have positive mind in every area? Or negative mind? Are you looking for the solution for the production, or just share your complaint or opinion with anger?

The result of these 10 spy’s deception report

Tragically, their persuasive speaking to let all Israel believed their deceived arrogant attitude with the rejection against the other two true faithful servant of God and brought the entire Israel people into the rebellion from His Promise.

They did not fear of the Lord, but they did fear the giants.

The ten spies were judged by God and died immediately from a plague (Numbers 14:37). And the whole generation that listened and believed the bad report ended up dying in their unbelief as they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. It's also interesting to see that their children lived to inherit the Promised Land and did not get into unbelief like their parents, but they suffered for their parents' unfaithfulness (Numbers 14:31-33).

IV. Walk by faith

Numbers 14:6-9 (KJV)

⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

⁷ And they spoke unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, the land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

⁸ If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows with milk and honey.

⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD, neither fear you the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

1. Only do not rebel against the Lord

2. Do not fear the people of the Land, for they are bread for us

3. Their defense is departed from them and the Lord is with us; fear them not

Caleb, 85 years old and as strong as an ox (Joshua 14:11), went to battle against the giants a generation later after receiving Hebron as his inheritance (Joshua 14:12-14).

David, a mere lad, prevailed against the giant Goliath and literally cut off his head (I Samuel 17:49-51). Hebron was the place where David was anointed king over Israel (II Samuel 5:3).

Yes, the giants are there but they are our bread! Bread is something we eat almost every single day! Listen: There will be giants set up to oppose God's will for our lives, but they will be bread for us, consumed by the power of God, if we trust in the Lord and do not fear the enemy. Going forward in faith and believing what God has spoken into our hearts will empower us to successfully walk into the Promised Land.

What kind of Giant are you facing now?

1 John 4:4

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

I John 5:4

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Christ’s Victory was for Us

Christ didn’t conquer satan for Himself.  His entire substitutionary atonement at Calvary was for His Bride, the Church. Everything He did, He did for us. The old person we once were in Adam died. Our identification in Christ’s death sets us free from sin, self, the Law, the world, and satan  

Sins

I Corinthian 15:3

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

Self

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

The Law

Romans 7:6

But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

The World

Galatians 6:14

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Satan

1 John 4:4

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Do not fear. Do not be anxious. Be strong and courageous. ..

V. with the right perspective

We're ready now to take a look at the enemies of God's promise, Anak and his descendants (Numbers 13:22). Anak means to choke and to strangle as if strangling someone with a necklace. The devil wants to choke out, strangle, and suffocate the promise of God; often by a slow process. King Solomon said, "Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish . . . " (Proverbs 29:18 AMP). The enemy wants to choke and strangle the vision. The devil just doesn't do it overnight. He's been working slowly on our mindsets every day since we were young children. Some believers carry mindsets into the kingdom that are opposing and blocking them from God's promise and God wants to set them free!

Now I want to share with you three tactics/schemes that Anak's descendants (Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai) planned to use against the children of Israel to choke and strangle God's promise to them. The enemy of our souls continues to use these same tactics in our lives.

Ahiman means to block or hinder.

This stronghold wants to block and hinder the Holy One's plan and the Holy One's purpose.

Sheshai means to whiten or white wash.

This stronghold wants to make something look like more than what it really is. Here's an example. A dirty, rusty, run down automobile has some paint thrown on it to make it look new when it isn't new at all.

Talmai means to accumulate.

The devil wants us to be so busy accumulating material goods and getting so involved in the cares of this work and into entertainment that we don't have time for God's purposes and promise.

The enemy wants something on the outside to look good but, in reality, on the inside, it's full of dead man's bones, white washed tombs (Matthew 23:27). It's hypocrisy. These strongholds try to get us to settle for something that's not authentic. It's that "settle for this" attitude; no real life or motivation. Also there's an apathetic spirit operating that tries to color our thinking: "If God wants to heal me, then He'll heal me." "God is sovereign and He does whatever He pleases so I'm not going to do anything."

If these strongholds succeed in deceiving us into settling for something that's not God's will, then ultimately we're abandoning God's real plan. And the strongholds are trying to get us to accumulate, and they are working with other giants to oppose and rob us from God's promise and to keep us from entering our prophetic destiny.

We can see historically that when the Israelites confronted their enemies in one generation (when they went in to take the Promised Land), they had to deal with them in another generation. And we're going to have to deal with these strongholds, too, when we take the land. We're going to have to go to "Hebron" ourselves and overcome not only the demonic strategies but also the mindsets that bring deception.