Evicting Hell From Your Promised Land

EVICTING HELL FROM YOUR PROMISED LAND

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: PARKING FINES

1. One little old lady came into the hair salon and told her elderly friend, “I got a compliment on my driving today! Someone put a note on my windshield that said, ‘Driving Fine!’”

2. A young man found his friend taking his windshield wipers completely off his car. He asked him, “What are you doing that for?” He answered, “Now that I’ve removed my windshield wipers I shouldn’t be getting any more parking tickets!”

B. THESIS

1. The subduing of the nations which inhabited the Promised Land of Canaan was symbolic of the believer conquering their sinful nature, their thoughts, rebellious will, negative emotions and old lifestyle.

2. The principles that Moses gave the Israelites about NOT compromising and how the process would happen are still valid principles for defeating the old life and establishing the new life in Christ.

3. There are 5 principles for Evicting Hell from your Promised Land: Victory only comes by 1). Growth, 2). Communing, 3). No Compromise with Sin, 4). Death of the Old Life, and 5). Dependence on God’s Power. The 1st principle is:

I. DELIVERANCE COMES GRADUALLY, AS YOU GROW IN CHRIST

A. TEXT

Exodus 23:28-30; I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. LITTLE BY LITTLE I will drive them out before you, UNTIL YOU HAVE INCREASED enough to take possession of the land.

B. INCREASE IS NECESSARY FOR POSSESSION

1. Notice that you can’t defeat your enemies without growth in Christ. Only when more of Christ comes in, will more of your sinful life be forced out. That’s why we must have “more of Christ!” Only Christ can set you free and the more of Christ you absorb the more deliverance you get.

2. Pine Beetles can only attack pine trees with lower pressures of sap. If there’s a lot of inward pressure, they can’t get in. If Jesus has a monopoly of you, Satan can’t get in! The more you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, the less of you the world can have.

3. Victory = more of Jesus. That should be our motivation; it was for Paul. “And when I came to you…I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” 1 Cor. 2:1-2.

4. “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” Phip. 3:8.

5. “The glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Col. 1:27. Christ in you IS the hope of glory! The objective is that ‘Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith’ (Eph. 3:17). The next principle is:

C. GROWTH IS GRADUAL & SHOULD NEVER STOP

1. Exodus 23:28-30 tells us that we don’t grow to fulness in Christ all at once, but year after year we’re supposed to grow in Him and subdue different parts of our old nature.

2. When I first got saved, God pointed out 3 major areas of sin for me to conquer. Once I defeated those, he pointed out other bad habits. Then He moved on to anger, pride, jealousy, honesty, thoughts, motives, etc.

3. He is the Refiner who is purifying the sons of Levi (priests). Our purification will never end because the Fall affected every part of our beings.

4. So we should never think we’ve arrived or that there is no more progress to make. God will never be finished with you! So if you’ve been saved 70 years and have been a soul-winner, teacher & leader – it doesn’t matter; you’re not perfect yet.

5. There is still work to do. There is no time to retire. You haven’t graduated from the school of Christ! You need to show up for class with Jesus tomorrow morning! Principle #2 is:

II. REGULARLY COMMUNING WITH GOD KEEPS FOES AWAY

A. TEXT

Exodus 34:24; “I will drive out nations before you and ENLARGE your territory, and NO ONE WILL COVET your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.”

B. PROMISE: GOD WILL ENLARGE YOUR TERRITORY

1. We should expect our spiritual power to increase, our knowledge of the Word to increase, our effectiveness in prayer to increase with exercise, our effectiveness in soul-winning to increase, and our influence over people to increase the longer we serve the Lord.

2. When Jabez prayed his famous prayer, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!” 1 Chron. 4:9, he was Probably NOT referring to property, but to how he might glorify God on a larger scale.