Exodus 23:20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. 22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the LORD your God, and hea will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornetsb before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you.
30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates,c for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.
The lord has a plan for his children. He is taking them to a promised place. But, he has not left them powerless. He has sent his angel to lead them and protect them and this is no ordinary angel! Notice some of his characteristics; He has the authority to pardon, He has the power to protect, He has the name of God in Him, and His words are the same as God’s words. (vs 22) This messenger is a Christophany. A non-physical manifestation of Jesus. Jesus was with them in the wilderness. Thank God Jesus is in our wilderness too. He leads, guides, and protects us everyday. He gives us the victory over the enemy. Over satan and over sin, the enemies of our souls.
When we were first saved we felt as if we had conquered it all! We felt the weight of the world and sin lifted from our souls. But, before long we started to realize that there was a war. We started to understand that we were in a battle. A battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. I truly doubt that most of us ever reach the latter of these. We are inundated by the influence of the world moment by moment. The world and its wickedness pressing on us from every direction. But, we CAN come out and be separate.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:3-5
We CAN overcome the world by faith! But, the battle continues. Now, we face the war in our flesh and when we are carnal we cannot please God.
Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
To be honest I am now becoming overwhelmed. If somehow I could defeat the power of the of the world, I now must deal with the sin in my own heart and mind. My sin nature and the unrelenting struggle I face to do it my own way. To have my own will and not God’s. The power struggle born out of pride and self-sufficiency. Like Paul I exclaim; “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death!” (Rom 7:24)
And just when you thought it could not get worse! Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The devil. If ever I could overcome the world and the flesh, then I have to wrestle the devil. Dear Jesus, help!
Now that we have established how utterly impossible this all seems, I want to offer a solution.
I have great news! We are not expected to conquer all this instantaneously! Read that again! We have been given a guide, a promise, a plan, a place, and the power to accomplish victory. AND IT IS LITTLE BY LITTLE. Ex 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.
Moment by moment, day by day, bit by bit, victory to victory! In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 ESV [34] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Relax! One day at a time.
Focus! Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Rejoice! You will win! Little by little! Battle by battle. Step by step.
Romans 8:33-37 ESV [33] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36] As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” [37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
