INTRODUCTION
• Chapter 23 is full of promises. Do you know God gave you promises for a reason.
• His promises are intended to build faith as you see Him fulfill His will.
Exodus 23:20,23,25,30, 20“Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
23“For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land.
25But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.
30“I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.
• Vs. 20 Protection, vs. 23 Presence, vs. 25 Provision, vs. 30 Possession
• This is a picture of the New Testament. He has promised us each of these things as well.
• But how He moves is crucial, timing. He will do it little by little.
• Anytime you embrace His promises your faith will be tested. Hell rarely sits by and watches as you grow in faith.
• There will be a battle.
I. HIS BOUNDARIES
• God has promised each of us possession.
• Of destiny, land, circumstances
• He has set His boundaries in your life and mine.
Psalm 16:6, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.”
• Vs. 30-31 - But any possessing we do is done by driving out evil with good.
• That is why…serving others is part of expanding the Kingdom of God.
• We love people and drive out darkness.
• Matthew 5:39 - Jesus said to turn the other cheek.
• Operate in the opposite spirit.
• Vss. 22-24 - Israel was called to drive out people who were destroying people. Evil always does that.
• There was a long history here of people who had stood against God. Genesis 15:16, Genesis 10,15 - Noah, Ham, Canaan and Amar
• They worshipped hundreds of gods. We have seen the perversion of their religion. Worship sex and killing the babies it brought forth to the god Moloch.
II. HIS PROTECTION AND PRESENCE
• Vs. 20 - “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.”
• Vs. 23 - “for my angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.”
• Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I am going to send my messenger...” - Messenger is the same word as angel here, the angel is the messenger Jesus. His name is His character.
• Jesus said go in my name - my authority and power
• God can and will protect you from perversion if you ask Him to.
• It comes through two things - His presence in our lives and our obedience to His word.
• Vss. 21-22
• You don’t have to be kept in bondage to all that goes on around you.
• The indifference towards human life, tolerating pollution in your life.
• Not removing you but allowing you to be salt and light in a dark world.
• David understood these principles better than most of us.
• Live purely and love deeply.
• Vs. 24 - “You shall not bow down to their gods.” Don’t give into serving things that rob your life.
• Having fears and doubts doesn’t disqualify you from being a person of faith. We all have doubts but don’t bow to them.
• Stand and praise. Israel failed to take these cities because they bowed to their fears, after the spies reported.
• If you are called to God don’t live like the world lives; walk with Jesus.
III. HIS PROVISION FOR YOUR DESTINY
• Vs. 25 - Destiny can come only with His provision.
• His blessing on the details of your life. The provision you need.
• This is a critical principle. God will move in and through your life as you seek His face and open to His will.
Matthew 6:33 - Seek first His kingdom and He will take care of the rest!
• Vs. 24 - Don’t bow down to their gods. How do you not bow down Pastor Dan?
• Stand up! Be steadfast, immovable
• I Corinthians 10 tells us Israel’s mistakes are an example for us.
• So we can read this text and know it applies today for us.
• There is a possibility that can only be secured through surrender to Him, to fulfill your days.
• Vs. 26 - “I will fulfill the number of your days.” That also implies that we can miss having our life fulfilled.
• I didn’t say you wouldn’t make heaven. I said you would miss some of your destiny here on earth.
• How do we miss it? We get impatient and give up and walk away.
• Instead of pressing into Him and pursuing Him.
CLOSE
• Vss. 29-30 - He doesn’t work on your or my schedule.
• Little by little; such a telling phrase, that God works but it is often slow.
