Little By Little

Intro

Opening Story/Illustration

Growing up, I always lived a pretty good distance from my Dad’s family.

The closest I ever remember living to them was 6hrs away.

I generally saw them about once a year growing up, and as I’ve grown older that has decreased to probably about once every 2 years of so.

But I can remember going to see them and you know the comments that you get as a kid ‘My have you grown.’ “You’re getting so tall.”I can remember thinking, I haven’t really grown that much.

Because to me, I’d been looking at myself in the mirror every day and I always saw the same face staring back at me. My growth was taking place little by little. Those of you who have kids, you may say “wow they grow up so fast.” But the truth is that growth takes place little by little. Step by step. Those who hadn’t seen me saw instant growth - but it’s because they hadn’t been watching the year long, day by day, process of physical growth.

Biblical Background

In the book of Exodus God is speaking to Moses.

He’s laying out the covenant.

He’s given them the 10 commandments that we all know about, but after that he laid down some other rules and laws for them as well.

He also tells them all the ways that he wants to bless them if they follow Him.

Towards the end of this whole exchange he begins talking about the way that he intends to take them into the promise land and there is a phrase he uses that just stuck out to me as I was reading this passage.

Biblical Content

Exodus 23:20–33 ESV

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 he 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 hornets 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, 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.”

Main Idea

GOD OFTEN WORKS LITTLE BY LITTLE

Bridge

This evening I want to talk about how God often works Little By Little.

Points

God was going to bring Israel into their Promise Land

This was going to be an act of God

Eight times “I Will”

God was going to defeat the other nations

He was going to drive them out with Pestilence (Hornets)

God was going to scare them and confuse them

They were going to run away from the Israelites!

If they obey God, He is going to take care of them & Fight for them!

hey basically just get to move forward and take what God has given them!

The people still had a part to play

They had to move forward

The phrase “You Shall” appears once in this passage.

But it reflects how the people, with God’s help were going to possess what God had promised.

They had to be obedient to the covenant if they were going to get the benefits of it.

God wanted an obedient heart in response to all that he had done for them

He brought them out of Egypt

He was taking care of them in the desert

He simply wants them to respond to his love and freedom in obedience - if they do this, he will take them into the land, and he will drive out these nations before them.

This whole process wasn’t going to be easy - But it was going to be God.

God was going to do this “Little by Little”

He didn’t want them to overwhelmed

He didn’t want to give them something they weren’t fully capable of handling.

If they moved in too quickly, there wouldn’t be enough of them to take care of the land.

Another reason God does this gradually is that he is testing their faithfulness to him. (Judges 3:1-6)

Judges 3:1–6 ESV

1 Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

God could have given them the land instantly - but it would not have stayed theirs for long - it would have been overrun because they weren’t able to handle it.

God had to take them through a process of preparing them for it.

He could have given them to it in an instant - but success that is instant, only lasts for an instant.

God wants to do Great plan and destination for your life.

God wants to do things in you that only be Described as “Acts of God”

The power of God in your life is to be a testimony of His grace and favor to those around you.

The things that God wants to do in you and through you are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Illustration - If you read through the Bible and look at church history you will find a common theme - God uses people whom you wouldn’t expect him to use! Many of them had deep, real struggles and problems. But God wanted to show himself real through them. You may feel as though your problems or your lack of significance disqualifies you, but God wants to show himself real through you!

Application - many of you have a dream that God has given you and promise that he wants you to hold onto! He is going to do it!

You have a part to Play

Your obedience opens the door for God’s blessing Just because God is doing something Great, doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy

We often think that because God is working that everything is easy and safe

Illustration - In C.S. Lewis’ Famous Children’s Book, “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” One of the children is asking about the Lion Aslan. They ask the question, “Is he safe” to which they get the reply, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Doing what God asks us isn’t always easy or safe, but we trust his goodness! As we do our part, God shows up!

Your obedience to God doesn't make God respond - but it gives him an opportunity to respond.

God often does this “Little by Little”

Illustration - In a little while we will break ground on a new Building. They will come out and start building. As much as we long to be in a New Building, we don’t want that thing thrown up in a day. We want it built right. If it’s thrown up in a day, chances are, it won’t stand or last. We want to build a building that is built right - And God wants lives that are built right. God does very little instantly God often takes his time - because he wants you to be ready for what He’s giving you.

There is no such thing as “Instant success” (Success that is instant only lasts for an instant) All the prayer, all the Bible reading, all the pain, all the suffering, all the endurance you are learning now is preparing you for what God has in store for you. It’s little by little that God does great things in your life.

Conclusion

Restatement of the MI - Success that is instant only lasts for an instant.

So what? Don’t shortcut the process - allow God to do things in your life! Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see growth. Write things down so you can see your progress.

3. Now what? Let’s pray this morning