The Hornet

Sermon Title: The Hornet

Opening Scriptures:

Psalm 44:1–8 (NKJV)

1 We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old:

2 You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

3 For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them.

4 You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us.

8 In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah

Joshua 24:11–13 (NKJV)

11 Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand.

12 I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

Hornets are Territorial & HIGHLY Aggressive

Point 1:

God has plans for you

Psalm 33:11 (NKJV)

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

Proverbs 16:3 (NASB95)

3 Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established.

Point 2:

Some things need to go… Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Philippians 3:13–14 (NKJV)

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:62 (NKJV)

62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Point 3:

God may not give it to us all at once

Deuteronomy 7:12–24 (NKJV)

12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.

13 And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.

14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock.

15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

16 Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’—

18 you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:

19 the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

20 Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.

21 You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.

22 And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed.

24 And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.

Would we really be ready for ALL God has for us all at once?

Point 4:

God will send His Hornet (Terror, Dread) ahead of us to prepare the way & remove the enemies that need to go.

Anything that is standing in the way of what He has promised us.

Psalm 23 (NKJV)

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Exodus 23:20–33 (NKJV)

20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.

29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.

31 And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with 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.”

Closing

When Israel originally looked out over the land God had promised them they were so focused on the problem standing in their way they totally neglected looking to the God who had promised as being bigger and more able than the problem.

If we are not careful we can do the same. God has plans for each and every one of us. He has made promises to us. He is faithful to perform. But when we take our eyes off of how BIG our God is and how big the obstacles are standing in our way are we can lose heart & faith

Let me encourage someone this morning

Jeremiah 32:17 (NKJV)

17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Luke 1:37 (NKJV)

37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Job 42:2 (NASB95)

2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose or plan of Yours can be stopped.

Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Psalm 68:1–4 (NASB95)

1 Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish before God.

3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him.