THE PROMISE OF GOD'S GUIDANCE
SCRIPTURE READING:
Exodus 23:20-26 (NIV) 20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices.You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
INTRODUCTION:
We are now in chapter 23 of the Book of Exodus.
This is the incident after the the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai.
God also gave them specific instructions on dealing with servants, with personal injury, with the protection of property, with social justice, with the Sabbath and the Annual Feast or Festivals.
You can read all of these in chapters 21-23.
We have no time to discuss every detail of these laws.
But the most important thing we can learn here is that God was preparing them spiritually and morally to move forward and claim the Promised Land.
They have never been there, but God has promised the land to them because they are His own people.
And so, God has planned to guide them along the way, every step of their journey.
They were required to listen carefully to what God says and do all that He commands.
He now gives them the things they MUST NOT DO along the way.
*They must not rebel against the Lord. God hates rebellion from His people.
*They must not bow down before the gods of the land, or worship or follow their practices.
God then list all the things they MUST DO along the way:
*They must listen carefully to God's commands.
*They must demolish the gods of the land and break their sacred stones to pieces.
*They must worship the Lord.
God then had PROMISED the following things in return for their obedience:
*God will bring them to the Promised Land
*God will wipe out all their enemies.
*God will bless their food and their water.
*God will take away sickness from among them.
*God will give them a full life span.
Wow, those are a lot of blessings in return for their complete obedience and submission.
This is what the covenant relationship with God is all about.
The reward will be received after they have obeyed.
That is the same thing that God requires from us.
When we have a covenant relationship with God through Christ, He has promised to bless us when we obey Him.
But along the way, He will lead us and guide us so that we can make it through the difficult pathway of life.
This is what God's guidance is all about.
There is no short-cut to the Promised Land.
We had to take the difficult road that leads to life.
We had to hold his hand and take one step at a time until we get there.
There are battles that had to be fought.
There are idols that had to be dismantled.
There are traps that had to be avoided.
But if we are faithful and obedient. We will make it.
The word "guidance" means God's direction to understand or God's advice that we need to follow.
It also means God's instruction and counsel for our everyday life that we need to pursue.
We do not follow our own Google map to get there, but we follow God's Biblical map instead, then we submit to His guidance.
But of course, that is only an illustration.
We still need the Google map.
The problem is many times, we just rush into deciding to do something that we desire without thinking thoroughly the consequences that what we are getting into.
We depend on our emotion to decide for us.
There was a story from the Reader's Digest of a flight attendant who spent a week's vacation in the Rockies.
She was captivated by the mountain peaks, the clear blue skies, and the sweet smelling pines.
But she was also charmed by a very eligible and handsome bachelor who owned and operated a cattle ranch that lived in a log cabin.
At the end of the week, the man proposed.
But it had happened so quickly that the woman decided to return home and to her job.
She felt that that she would need more guidance.
The next day, in flight, she found herself wondering what to do.
To perk up, she stopped in the rest room and splashed some cool water on her face.
There was some turbulence in the air and a sign lit up: PLEASE RETURN TO THE CABIN.
It must be it.
A sign from God.
Thank you Lord.
So, she went back to the cabin and married the man.
I don't think that is the right method of seeking guidance especially in the crucial decision of seeking a life partner.
If you want to succeed in life, you have to daily ask God for guidance, not to decide out of impulse.
That means, God has a plan for our lives and God wants us to take that step carefully according to His plan.
Once we miss on that step, we fall and hurt ourselves.
That is why seeking God's will for our lives and His guidance in every decision is very important process we need to follow.
The situations and the circumstances are very much different from each one of us.
But one ting is clear, the basic Christian principles to apply are the same for all of us.
It has never changed over time.
We need to discover these basic Christian principles from the truth of God's Word, the Bible.
That means if we study carefully His Words, we will never miss those steps and we will never fall off the cliff.
At the same time, God uses other Christians especially those who are mature in their faith to help guide us along the way.
And so, their valuable advises can help us to achieve our spiritual goals and bring us closer to our destination.
The difficulty we face is that we don't know the way to the Kingdom of God but we want to go there anyway.
And so, we devise ways to get there without realizing that there are many obstacles or traps along the path set up by our enemies.
Our understanding on this spiritual journey is very much limited and we easily lose our way with the many distractions of life.
When we are lost, we usually have the frustration of asking for directions.
There are people who made a wrong step, fall along the way and never recover in the process.
There are those who started in the right path but after sensing the difficulties along the way, they have diverted their steps to much easier road going further and further away from the Biblical truth.
There are others who fell many times but are able to stand up and found the right way and learned from their mistakes.
In all these things, we need God's guidance and clear direction every single step.
God has promised to guide us to the Promised Land so that we can make it and succeed.
He had promised to send His angels to go ahead of us and bring us to the place of safety and rest.
He had promised to bring us there helping us along the way in spite of the difficulties ahead.
He had promised protection from our enemies and sicknesses.
He had promised long and prosperous life.
If we are faithful to Him, he has promised blessings of provision on our food and water.
But there are several things we need to do if we want to make it.
We have to be faithful and obedient until the very end.
We must not bow down to any of the gods of this world, in fact, we must demolish them if we are to survive.
We must focus our worship on God alone.
And so, today, we will look at three things on how God will guide us along the way:
GOD'S PROMISE OF GUIDANCE
1. HE WILL SEND HIS ANGEL AHEAD OF US
Exodus 23:20 " 20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared."
The first thing we can notice in the way that God was guiding the Israelites is that through an angel that he has sent ahead of them.
It means that God has an advance party before they could even take their first step.
It means that God has sent His messenger onward into the future to put everything in order or to give them a more advantageous position over their enemies.
God said, "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way."
It is as if God was telling them that you will be sure of victory because of my advance party.
This truth is amazing indeed.
All that the Israelites had to do is to be faithful and obedient and the Promised land is on their fingertips.
In the Bible, we can learn that there are many purposes why God sends an angel ahead of His people.
Many times, His angels are to deliver messages, to accompany the lonely, to grant protection to His people and even to fight His battles.
In many of these angelic appearances, the angels who were sent to deliver messages began their words by saying, "Do not be afraid," or "do not fear."
But most of the time, God's angels operate undercover and don't draw attention to themselves as they carry out the assignments given to them by God.
There are even cases when the appearance of these heavenly beings strike terror in the hearts of God's enemies.
Many of us don't realize this but angels are actively involved in the lives of God's people and maybe even in the lives of many unbelievers who are going through tough times in life in search for God.
These angels have specific function and it is a blessing to have God send an angel in response to our prayers in times of need.
Palms 34:7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."
The word "encamp" means to settle, to lodge, to dwell.
He will dwell in our midst so that we will be guided to the right path of because many times, we are tempted to make wrong decisions in life.
There was a story of an angel that appeared at a faculty meeting.
The angel tells the Dean of that University that in return of his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or good looks.
Without hesitation, the dean selected infinite wisdom.
"Done!" said the angel. "You now have infinite wisdom."
All the heads turned toward the dean, who sat surrounded by a faint halo of light.
At length, one of his colleagues whispered, "Say something."
The dean tuned and said, "I should have taken the money."
We make wrong decisions all the time that is why we need God's guidance every moment.
Let me just say this important truth about God's guidance for our lives.
He will lighten our paths on where we are.
He will give us wisdom on what we need to do for the present.
He will give us provision for that day.
This is how the Lord works in us.
God will give us just enough light, just enough wisdom, just enough provision and just enough guidance for the present.
Not more or less.
Just enough load that we maybe able to carry for the day.
His guidance is one day at a time because His angel is already ahead of us.
He wants us to keep holding His hands as we move forward.
He wants us to lean more upon Him.
That is why, we need a daily dose of God's Word to sustain us for that day.
That is what trust and faith is all about.
If you want to move forward, concentrate on the present so that you will achieve more for the future.
This is what walking in step with the Spirit is all about.
Gal. 5:25 (NIV) "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
We will never walk too fast nor too slow lest we are out of step with God's will.
This is mostly true when we are making a decision.
We make decisions every single day.
Some of them are minor, like what to wear and where to go for lunch.
Others are major, requiring much thought and prayer like the person to marry.
Big decisions in life require big prayer and thorough reflection and good hearing from God's voice.
Ultimately, we have to make a decision for ourselves based from the facts that we have accumulated from the past.
Jeremiah 10:23-24 (NIV) "23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. 24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure— not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing."
In here, the prophet Jeremiah prayed for God's guidance because many times, just like us, he made mistakes in his decisions and he knows God is angry when he messed up with himself.
He knows that he will be disciplined for not listening to God.
And so, he asked God for compassion and mercy so that he can learn from his mistakes.
And so, as we seek God's guidance, nothing must hinder us from listening to His voice.
We must confess our sins, including pride, unforgiveness and anger that can blind our decision making process.
We must ask the Lord to help us live at peace with those around us.
We must be aware of the devil's scheme to stir up troubles in our family, friends, business associates and others.
Prayer is essential when we face the crossroads of life.
We must seek His will and walk with Him.
I took this story from angelfocus.com regarding a U.S. solider survival story in Vietnam because of an angel.
It happened in 1970 to 1971 where he was stationed in Vietnam at that time when the U.S. was starting to pull out of the country.
He was assigned to bring an artillery company pout of the mountains back to their base at Long Bien.
Then, along the way, he felt a cool breeze run up in his back.
They were in the sweltering jungle, and they knew that there should not have been any cool breeze around.
He immediately felt that his convoy was to be ambushed down the road.
He prayed and sought the Lord.
He then halted the convoy in the middle of the jungle to review the ambush instructions with the troops.
They mounted on their vehicles and proceeded down the road very cautiously.
Within 30 minutes, they were ambushed but because they were ready, they were able to get through without any incident.
They returned fire and drove back the Vietcong giving them ample time to escape the ambush zone.
This happened three times in the year that he was there.
There was an angel of the Lord guiding them to safety.
Many times, we may not be aware of it, but the angel from God has delivered us from impending danger and brought us back to safety.
He will guide us, but ultimately, we have to make a decision whether to follow Him or not.
This is how God guides His people.
2. HE WILL GUARD US ALONG THE WAY
Exodus 23:20 "20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared."
The second thing that we can notice in the way that God was guiding the Israelites is that He had promised to guard them along the the different pathways that are before us.
You see, the Israelites are on their way to the Promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey.
It was being inhabited by the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites.
These people despised the Israelites because they were out to take away their land from them.
And so, the Israelites were ready for battle, hardships, confrontations and bloodsheds.
At the same time, the road to the Promised land was never easy and smooth.
To get there, they will have to go through the wilderness, the rough road, the mountainous areas, and the valley of the shadow of death in order to reach the Promised Land.
There will be times when they will have to travel without food and water.
There will be times when they will have no place to stay and will get sick.
There will be times when they will meet robbers or bandits along the way.
There will be dangers and difficulties lurking everywhere.
But God has promised of His guidance and direction all the way.
"I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared."
You see, that is the same thing that we will experience while we travel on our spiritual journey to reach the Kingdom of God.
The road to God's Kingdom is never easy, many Christians have already fallen away.
There are many different paths to take.
We must take those paths out of necessity, out of urgency and out of compulsion.
These pathways are requirements to reach our destination.
Here are some types of paths that we will have to take:
1. THE UNFAMILIAR PATH.
Isa. 42:16 (NIV) "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
The word "unfamiliar" refers to those pathways or roadways that are unexplored, strange, foreign or bizarre.
These are the paths of life that we have no knowledge about because this will be the first time that we will travel through that kind of road.
Some of the examples of this unfamiliar paths of life can be the first time that you will step into College in which you know nothing about what lies ahead.
The first time you will step into your work and you have no knowledge of the kind of people around you and the reception they will give you.
The first time you will embark on a business of which you are unfamiliar of.
The first time that you will visit a foreign country in your travel without any contact person.
We all have our first times in lives, don't you think so?
When we got here in the U.S. many years ago, it was an unfamiliar path for both of us in spite of the fact that many of our relatives lived here.
The Bible says that God will guide us even on those unfamiliar paths.
He will turn those darkness into light.
He will make those rough places smooth.
God will never forsake us.
He will be there all the way when we seek and pray to Him.
All we have to do is to obey Him and take that first step of faith.
2. THE DARKEST PATH
Psalms 23:4 (NIV) "Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
We are all familiar with the David's Shepherd's Psalms 23.
He said that even if he is walking this darkest valley full of dangers and perils, yet he will not fear because of God's guidance in His life.
The word "darkest valley" refers to those places that are completely black, cloudy without any exposure of light.
It refers to those situations or circumstances that we encounter in our lives that we think are hopeless, sad, or tragic.
Those times when you have just lost your loved ones.
Those times when you have just lost your job.
Those times when you have experienced financial bankruptcy.
Those times when your husband walked out on you.
Those times when you received a tragic news from your family in the Philippines.
When there is a big earthquake that had happened.
God forbid that any of these will happen to any of us but the Bible says that even IF (that is a big if) we go through those dark valleys of life, when the Lord guides us, He will see us through and we will never have to fear anything.
He will be there to comfort us.
He will guide us by His rod and staff.
Even if other people will abandon us, God will never do that because that is the way that God guides His beloved.
"He will guide you along the way of life."
3. THE SLIPPERY PATH.
Psalms 35:6 (NIV) "may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them."
Psa 73:18 (NIV) "Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
Both of these verses from Psalms talk about the slippery path that sometime come our way on our way to our eternal destination.
The words "slippery" path means a road that is smooth, slick and greasy.
It can also refer to those roads that are perilous, fully polished or very unsafe to walk on.
The danger lies when we step into those slippery paths that our footing become unsteady or unstable that we slip and fall.
So, what are those slippery paths that we encounter along the way?
Those are the paths that we take out of disobedience to God's Word, ignoring His warnings and rebelling from His commands.
When we know that it is not good for us to have a relationship with a married man or woman, we are taking that slippery path.
When we know that it is not good for us to take alcohol or drugs but continue to do so out of disobedience, we are taking that slippery path.
When we know that it is not good for us to worship idols or graven images but continue to do so ignoring His warnings, we are taking that slippery path to ruin.
When we know that it is not good for us to continue that lavish spending pattern but continue to do so to satisfy our materialistic desire, we are taking that slippery path to financial ruin.
When we know that it is not good for us to allow those lustful thoughts to continue dominating our minds but grant them access anyway, we are taking that slippery path to destruction.
There are many other ways that we might have taken those slippery paths unaware.
The Bible says to beware, take heed and be careful not to tread on slippery paths.
It is dark, slippery, unstable, icy and wet.
You will get hurt.
What is the solution when this thing happen?
Trust God. Commit your life to Him.
Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Worship Him and Him only.
Psalms 121:3 (NIV) "He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber."
That means God's guidance will protect our feet from stumbling along the slippery path.
He will be there to hold us and bring us back on our feet when we repent and ask His forgiveness.
That is why the next step is quite fitting.
3. HE WILL BRING US TO THE PLACE HE HAS PREPARED FOR US
Exodus 23:20 "20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared."
The third area of God's guidance is with regards to our future place of destination.
The text tells us that God has a good plan for the Israelites.
He will bring the Israelites to the place that He has prepared for them.
That place of rest has been made ready, planned and arranged by God for His people.
God had promised to bring them to this beautiful place.
This is a place where their food and water are blessed and always in abundant supply.
This is the place where they will have no more sickness or pain to experience.
This is a place where they will have an abundant life even in an old age.
God said, "Don't worry. You will be there soon. It is being made ready for you."
This is the same promise of Jesus to His disciples before He left them to go to the Father:
John 14: 1-3 (NIV) "“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
This then is the importance of maintaining our faith in Christ through our spiritual journey of life.
It says that if we have faith in God, we will believe Him to the very end of life.
If we have faith in Him, we know that our enemies can be defeated through Christ.
If we have faith, we will not worship other gods which will be a snare to us.
If we have faith in God, then, we know that God is doing a great job of preparing the rooms we will occupy in heaven.
If we have faith in God, then we know that Christ will come again to take us home with Him for ever.
If we have faith in God, we will focus on the goal and will never be distracted along the way.
Faith is an important ingredient for God's continued guidance upon our lives.
Heb. 11:6 (NIV) "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Our eternal reward will only materialize when we maintain our faith in Him.
In closing let me quote to you the statements of Billy Graham that great evangelist who is now 96 years old and counting.
He made great statements about Heaven - the place that Christ is preparing for all of us.
Listen carefully.
This was taken from newsmax.com.
He said: "I know I'm going to Heaven. I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation."
"Heaven is real, and hell is real; and eternity is but a breath away.
"Even when we allow our imaginations to run wild on the joys of heaven, we find that our minds are incapable of conceiving what it will be like.
"Heaven does not make this life less important - it makes it more important.
"But the most thrilling thing about heaven is that Jesus Christ will be there. I will see Him face to face.
Jesus Christ will meet us at the end of life's journey.
In heaven, I wish with all my heart that I could reclaim a thousand part of the time I've let slip through my fingers, that I could call back those countless conversations which could have glorified my Lord - but didn't."
Heavenly rest will be so refreshing that wee will never feel that exhaustion of mind and body we so frequently experience now.
I am really looking forward for that."
Lastly, he said, "I will not go to heaven because I am a preacher. I am going to heaven entirely on the merit of the work of Christ, my Savior."
Heaven is a beautiful place.
God will guide us there one step at a time.
END.....
