October 4, 2015
Dr. Montia Setzler, Senior Pastor
Series: Stand Strong
God’s Faithful Plan of Victory
Exodus 23:20–33 (HCSB)
20 “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to his voice. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for My name is in him. 22 But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For My angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. 24 You must not bow down to their gods or worship them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces. 25 Worship the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you. 26 No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days. 27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror and throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat. 28 I will send the hornet in front of you, and it will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites away from you. 29 I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you. 32 You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you.”
1. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS HAS ALREADY PLANNED VICTORY FOR US IN ADVANCE. v 20
v 20 “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.”
- • While we are still planning the battle, God has already provided the victory.
1 Corinthians 15:57 (HCSB)
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
- • Enjoy the protection God has for us on the way to the victory.
2. GOD’S FAITHFUL PLAN FOR VICTORY INVOLVES OUR FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE. vv 21-22
- • Rebel against God’s plan and you suffer the consequences.
- • Obey God’s faithful plan and you discover the victory He has for you.
Deuteronomy 28:1 (HCSB)
“Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.”
3. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS PROMPTS US TO WORSHIP HIM ALONE. vv 23-26; 32-33
v 25 “Worship the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.”
- • Genuine worship of God alone allows us to claim the promises that:
- a. He will provide
- b. He will protect
- c. He will prosper
4. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IS RARELY EARLY, NEVER LATE, ALWAYS ON TIME. vv 27-31
- • Our timing is not always His timing.
- • God’s faithfulness shows up right when we need it.
- • Our obedience plus His faithfulness produces the victory.
God gives us the victory long before the battle begins, but the key is our willingness to obey whatever He asks. Obedience prompts worship; which is followed by God showing up right on time.
