It Takes A Fighter | Joshua 14:1–15

Opening Remarks

Opportunity

Bro. Cockrell and men of TTBC

Other pastors/churches

Enjoyed seeing men that I went to college with

Bro. Veazey

Legacy Quartet

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INTRODUCTION:

How many of you have been in a fist fight at some point in your life?

Most men can raise their hands. And by the looks of you, some of those punches landed, didn’t they?

Boys are just fighters. I love the way boys fight like they want each other dead one minute, then hang out like nothing happened the next.

Some guys are just fighters. I had a friend in HS who wanted to fight everybody. Every interaction it seems he chose violence.

I’m not condoning that, but sometimes I wish as a pastor that the fighting spirit some men in other areas have could translate into their spiritual lives.

If you want to stand up in this culture, it takes a fighter.

If you want to remain pure, it takes a fighter.

If you want to stand up for this Bible and right doctrine, it takes a fighter.

A willingness to get roughed up and do some hard things.

If you want to fill in the gap and win against sin, you’re going to have a fighting spirit.

Instead of what I see too much of - men that throw in the towel when it gets hard.

Sometimes it takes a fighter.

Men who’ll blaze a trail and do something hard.

Men like David, who fought lions and bears and giants.

Men like Peter, who probably got in a few scraps as a young men.

That fighting spirit is missing in our churches.

Not fighting with each other. Fighting for what’s right. Fighting to achieve more. Fighting against the status quo.

Caleb was a fighter. .

At 40 he said, (Numbers 13:30) “Let us go up at once, and posses it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

At 85 he says, “I want that mountain.”

Here are some marks of a fighter that we can see in Caleb’s life.

I. CALEB DREAMED BIG

The children of Israel had gathered to divide the land among the people.

To make it fair, God had them cast lots to figure out who got what piece of ground.

But Caleb comes to Joshua and has a request.

Remember, Joshua and Caleb went way back. In Numbers 12, they were the only spies out of 12 to have faith and say, “With God’s help, we can take the land.”

But the 10 bad spies impacted the faith of Israel and the whole nation wandered 40 years in the wilderness because of it.

But Deuteronomy 1:36 says Caleb, “…wholly followed the Lord.” And because of it, God promised him he would possess the land his feet had walked on.

Look how Caleb recalls that promise — Joshua 14:5-9.

45 years before this moment, when Caleb was 40 years, he set his sights on a piece of ground and because he was all in with God, God said, “I’m going to keep you alive long enough to get it.”

Caleb chose to focus on a dream instead of accepting a lot.

Caleb Had No Problem Dreaming Big

That’s what fighters do. Fighters start out thinking about belts. The Olympics.

And when you dream big, you don’t just take what comes to you.

Caleb set his sights higher than what everyone else was doing. That’s fighter.

Why do you think Caleb was like this?

Caleb was committed by choice, not obligation.

Caleb was the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite.

According to Genesis 15:19 the Kenizzites were a tribe of Canaan.

So Caleb’s family was originally not Jewish. But at some point the Kenizzites had joined the tribe of Judah before the Exodus and had been assimilated into the nation of Israel.

So understand, Caleb’s faith was not hereditary. He wasn’t a legacy. He wasn’t there by obligation. He was there by choice.

Too many men in our churches almost seem to be dragged by their wives or there because their kids need it.

Be a man who serves follows God not by conviction, not obligation.

Don’t be the man who shows up to church just because you’re expected to.

Don’t be the man who does the minimum to get by.

Looking at the clock while your pastor is preaching.

A man of obligation does what he does by force. A man of conviction does what he does because he recognizes God’s grace in his life.

Caleb’s name actually means “dog.”

Caleb was literally an underdog. I wonder if that’s why he took nothing for granted.

He wasn’t like the comfortable second generation Christians who just take what is given. He wanted all he could get.

We don’t need a top dog mentality. We need an underdog mentality.

Guys with chips on their shoulders that say, “I don’t take anything for granted. I wouldn’t be anything without God. So I’m all in.”

Caleb was an underdog who was committed by choice, not obligation.

Caleb bought into God’s promises.

He believed what God said 45 years later. He’s saying, “God kept me alive for this moment.”

For 45 years, he held on to the promise of a piece of ground.

You know his friends and family got tired of hearing him talk about that mountain for 45 years.

Ever met someone who talks about something every time you see them.

Trucks, hunting, hot rods, guns, fishing, Bucee’s. There’s a lot of them to be obsessed with.

But can you imagine being a man so obsessed with God’s promises that you’re known for it?

Sign me up!

Made a promise to my son to take him to BWW as a three year old if he would fully potty train. Finally did, and I couldn’t take him right away. My son reminded me of that promise until I was ready to pull my hair out.

We ought to be that obsessed with being all we can be for God.

I want to succeed in life. I want my finances to be in order. I want to go on good vacations. I don’t want to settle.

But nothing ought to touch the obsession I have for knowing and serving God.

Caleb said, “I’m alive because of this.”

Why has God kept you alive?

Fighters have something big to live for. Fighters dream big.

Stop settling for the low ground. “My prayer, my aim is higher ground.”

God has you alive to make a difference in His kingdom. Through your family, through your church, alongside your pastor.

Dream Big

Have vision

That’s what Fighters Do

II. Choose Risk Over Comfort

Vs. 10-12

Caleb was 85, but he says, “I’m as strong now as I was at 40.”

Caleb stayed in “game shape” for 45 years.

That means day after day, Caleb allowed God’s promise to motivate him to stay ready.

Lebron James - Not really a big fan. He’s definitely a first ballot Hall of Flopper. But love him or hate him, the way that he has kept his body in shape at the age of 40 is nothing short of remarkable. We had an NBA player attending our church for a while who played for the G-League team in Sioux Falls and he told me that Lebron spends well over 1 million dollars a year on his body.

For an incorruptible crown, that’s crazy! Yet he’s willing to be uncomfortable for what he’s passionate about.

And I just wonder, how many of God’s men are willing to be uncomfortable for His cause?

Telling people about Jesus is uncomfortable, but it’s a command.

Giving more to missions is uncomfortable, but it’s a worthy cause.

We’re willing to sit in a deer blind in the freezing cold for hours, but how committed are we to God’s causes?

By the way, Caleb was 85. He could have coasted. He could have said, “Give me that quiet spot by the stream where I can trout fish and listen to the birds and just live in peace.”

But Caleb the underdog says, “I’ve kept myself in game shape. I’m stronger now than I was at 40. And I don’t want a meadow, I WANT A MOUNTAIN.”

If you’re an older man here, if you’re still alive, God still has a plan for you.

God keeps us alive for a reason.

Maybe it’s to inspire or mentor a younger man coming up behind you.

Maybe it’s to hold up your Pastor’s arms in prayer.

Maybe it’s to reach someone in your circle of influence.

Don’t assume God’s done with you.

Caleb didn’t.

He chose risk over comfort.

He could have settled anywhere. He could have just accepted whatever lot he got, but he chose a mountain.

And not just a mountain, a mountain with giants.

And not just giants, cities with massive walls.

And Caleb, 85, says, “Give me that piece of ground.” I want to walk up a hill. I want to break down walls. I want to kill some giants.

That does something for me as a man. I don’t want to take the easy way out. I want to conquer something.

When Earnest Shackleton was making expeditions to Antarctica on the Endurance, he put an ad in a London newspaper that read, “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

In 1914, that resonated with over 5,000 men who applied. Because that was the spirit of the average man back then.

I remember as a kid that military advertisements were all about doing more before 8 than most people do in a day. It was Marines and Soldiers and Pilots and Sailors doing daring and dangerous stuff, and every little boy thought, “I could do that.”

Now the military advertisements are all about, “Let us pay for your college.”

I don’t begrudge that, but I’m sad that that’s how to appeal to the modern man.

We need some men who are willing to take risks and be uncomfortable to conquer something.

Too many men do what it takes to get by.

They do the minimum.

At church

As a husband

As a dad

At work

Whatever it takes to get by.

But that’s not what fighters do.

Caleb looked at the hills and the giants and the walls and said, “I see them, but I have God.”

Fighters:

DREAM BIG

CHOOSE RISK OVER COMFORT

III. Are Willing To Take A Punch

Vs. 12 - “If the Lord be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.”

None of this is possible without God’s help. We know that.

But also, most older people talk more about old conflicts than they do taking on new ones. But Caleb was ready for one more good fight. He was eager to fight giants and take cities. Not in his strength, but in God’.

Caleb knew that the Lord on his side. But he also knew there was a fight ahead.

We don’t know exactly how it went down, but verse 14 says, “Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb.”

Which means Caleb walked up the hill, knocked on the door of a massive city wall, and said, “Hey giant, have you ever been whooped by an 85 year old? You wanna see what it’s like?!?”

As cool as this story is, Caleb had to go in and fight.

Which meant he was willing to take a punch, if that’s what it came to.

Following God means you’re going to take some punches.

Next chapter down, Joshua 15:14, says that Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak, then enlisted help and promised his daughter to whoever would help him drive out the inhabitants of Debir. A dude named Othniel said, “I’m in.”

Can you imagine saying, “Hey I really like that house down the street. If you can conquer it for me, you can marry my daughter!”

I love the OT.

Here’s what this means to me - Sometimes it takes a fight. Which means you’re going to have to learn to take some punches.

Got punched in the face by a neighborhood kid one time. I acted like it didn’t hurt, but as soon as they left I ran home to my mom. Turned into a black eye, saw the same kids a few days later and they asked what was on my eye and I said, “It’s just dirt.”

That punch hurt. But I learned an important lesson that day: It’s possible to take a punch and not let it take you down.

We have guys in this room who’ve take some punches.

Given into sin

Have had an addiction

Someone in your life did you wrong

Failed marriage

Lost someone close

Pastors - We take punches all the time

Every good Fighter has been hit. The difference is how you respond when you get punched.

Some guys let the punch take them down. But others say, “I refuse to let one landed punch define me.”

Some guys lay on the mat and some get up.

I’m thinking of a man who took a punch recently.

One of the toughest moments of my pastoring experience. I replay the phone in my head quite often.

Honestly, that’s the worst punch a dad can take.

Maybe some in here have been hit like that.

But what’s been amazing to me is to watch him get off the mat.

He never quit church. He leaned heavily on his church family.

He let us share in his grief rather than closing everyone off.

And though there are still times of great emotion, he never lays on the mat.

What’s interesting is he’s into combat sports. So he knows what it is to take a punch.

He knows that you have to get up when you get hit.

He has refused to let a punch define him. And God’s using him and his testimony to reach people.

We have other men who have taken punches.

I’m thinking of one who dealt with a young adult child who suddenly moved out.

That’s punch. But it’s thrown his spiritual life into a tailspin.

Hardly see him at church. He’s checked out.

While some guys get up, some guys are still laying on the mat.

And if you lay there long enough, that punch will become what defines you.

Fighters get off the mat when they get punched. For fighters, success is measured by who gets off the mat when they get punched.

Get up. Your wife doesn’t need to see perfection. She needs to see a man who’s willing to get up when he takes a punch.

Your kids know your flaws. But they don’t need a perfect dad. They need a dad who responds correctly when he makes a mistake.

Your pastor doesn’t need you to be sinless. He simply needs to see that you don’t let a failure define you.

We need some men who can take a punch and get up and keep moving forward.

Your Family Needs A Fighter:

Not fighting with your wife, but fighting for her.

Fighting to walk with God instead of making her lead.

Fighting to train and discipline the kids instead of leaving it all up to her.

Fighting to create a spiritual environment at home.

A Fighting dad leaves a meaningful legacy with his kids.

In the next chapter, (Joshua 15:19), Caleb was able to give his daughter land because he’d fought for it.

If Caleb hadn’t been a fighter, he would have had nothing to leave his children.

I wonder how many men will leave money to their kids, but no spiritual example or legacy to speak of.

Your family needs a fighter.

Your Church Needs A Fighter:

Someone to fight for the cause of Christ.

Someone to stand strong with your Pastor.

Fighting to hold fast to what is true instead of what is trendy.

Fighting a spirit of complacency and criticism.

The Kingdom of God Needs Fighters:

Those who will have a testimony that points others to Christ in an otherwise godless workplace.

Those who will invest in missions so that the Gospel can go to places we can’t.

Fighters who will give up a Saturday morning to tell someone about Jesus Christ, even when it’s inconvenient.

Fighters who will reach the world with the Gospel while there’s still time.

Young men who refuse to be the status quo and consider surrendering their lives to preach the Gospel.

Why do we need fighters?

Because there are mountains to conquer.

You have mountains in your life that you need to conquer. Mountains we’ve talked about this weekend.

Mountains that cast a long shadow. Mountains will remain under the jurisdiction of giants if God’s men refuse to fight.

2. Jesus fought through a lot for you.

He left His Father’s side to come to earth.

Was rejected and persecuted.

Prayed in agony in the garden, then arrested and tortured and crucified.

He fought emotion and enemies and death, hell, and the grave for our sake.

Why do we need fighters? Because Jesus Christ deserves some fighters.

Have you lost your fight?

Have you grown complacent to the cause?

God needs some fighters for His cause.

DREAM BIG

CHOOSE RISK OVER COMFORT

GET UP AFTER TAKING A PUNCH