Victory Comes Little by Little [podcast]

“And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.” Deuteronomy 7:22 

“This is my most favorite podcast of yours. And perhaps one of the first ones I listened to. I was wanting God to move faster in the sanctification process. After listening I realized Let God take it all! I am not in control. The Holy Spirit is! He shows me what needs to be crucified in my heart. It’s not my job to go look for it because I do not know what is in my heart. Only God does! I am only required to obey and take what He shows me to the cross of Christ!! The Lord led me to pour over this scripture this morning. 2 Corinthians 3:18. ‘But we all, with open face beholding as a glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from Glory to Glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ ‘Open face’ here means not hiding, taking off the veil over our eyes and hearts and seeing ourselves for who we really are before a Holy God. When we look into God’s Holiness, it’s like looking into a mirror and His Holiness exposes our sinful selves. If we are honest and dare to see our real selves against the purity of God, we see how much we are not like Him and need Him to make us into the image of Christ. This is sanctification. Philippians 2:12-13. We need to say ‘No’ to the flesh, crucify it, and allow God to control our lives, not self. Being changed little by little into the Glory of God.” Karen Cochran

God is perfecting that which concerns His beloved people!!! (Psalms 138:8; Philippians 2:12-13, etc.)

We can know that as we are taking the next “step”, the LORD is delighting in us! It is important that the LORD’s people, each of us, always remember that “The STEPS of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” (Psalms 37:23) Notice here that God orders our “steps”, and not our leaps, or jumps or flights. Get the picture? Simply take the next step as you are seeking first His kingdom, putting Christ first, and “Take therefore no thought for the morrow.” – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:33-34) Now, read Psalms 37:23 again and catch this, the truth that we can know that as we are taking the next step, the LORD is delighting in us!

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4

Two things God desires to do:

1. 1. save “all men”, and then to those who are saved…
   2. to bring them to “the knowledge of the truth” or the full experience of the truth which is sanctification, full victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil

“Little and Little” = Little by Little

God changes us little by little and not all at once and He establishes us in Him, in His peace, love, joy, etc., “little and little.” (Exodus 23:30)

“By LITTLE AND LITTLE I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.” Exodus 23:30

As we abide in Christ, as we fight the good fight of faith, as we work out (not for) our salvation with fear and trembling, Jesus works in us to perfect us, by displacing the evil, the iniquity, and drives our enemies…. Fear, anger, hatred, lust, discontent, ungratefulness, etc., as He possesses more and more the battle field of our hearts and minds. He is establishing in us His praise – no matter what is going on – good or bad! It’s all Him.

“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalms 138:8

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Let’s read our main Bible passage again:

“I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.” Exodus 23:29-30

God does not rid us of all our enemies, all that ails us, immediately upon saving us. We are “increased” and thereby the enemy is decreased “little and little” which means little by little. Incremental growth as we diligently serve Him, living by faith daily, as we deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus.

This order is important. As God, the initiator, the author and finisher of our faith, our salvation increases, we are blessed to decrease as we worship and comply.

“Fret not” appears 3 times in Psalm 37. And beloved of God, this is His instruction to you – when you begin thinking that your growth in the grace of Christ seems to be miniscule. Do we realize that the LORD of His abiding saints, says that their growth will be incremental, “little and little” or little by little (Exodus 23:29-31).

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4 

Concerning the “patience and comfort of the scripture” and the “hope” they bring to our hearts, the Holy Ghost through Paul says:

“These verses remind me of the podcast Little by Little. One of my favorites! That podcast helped me to realize God only sanctifies us in small increments. As He is in charge and we are not. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). This is not a one time event. But a process so we can one day “be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man” (Luke 21:36) and receive final salvation (Matthew 24:13).” Karen Cochran

This truth should comfort the hearts of every one of Christ’s disciples.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

The people of God had been saved out of Egypt which depicts our being saved by Christ, the salvation from sin and the world. As we forsake the world and not the LORD….

Then comes sanctification.

The leavening effect of sanctification pushes out the evil, the enemies. The swelling of the truth in us pushes out the evil, replaces it. If at the moment of initial salvation, God just removed all our enemies, then what would fill that vacuum? We must be increased by Him, to grow in the grace of Christ and in proportion to that enlargement is the removing of the evil, the enemies, the conquering of that land of our hearts and lives.

The divine command, requirement to be sanctified, set apart to the LORD, to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” is seen here: “Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33  They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Exodus 23:32-33; 2 Corinthians 6:17)

“Exodus 23:30: I see personally that is, that salvation is like taking the promised land. We are to fight daily to grow, and to take the Kingdom of God that belongs to us. Lots of fights with the devils, but if the fight is fought daily, there is progress going to be made. We submit ourselves to God, resist the devil, and he flees from us.” Gene Robbins

Believer’s Bible Commentary on Exodus 23:20-33:

“Laws Regarding Conquest (23:20-33)
Here God promised to send . . . an Angel (the Lord Himself) before the Israelites, to lead them to the Promised Land and to drive out the heathen inhabitants. If the Jews refrained from idolatry and obeyed the Lord, He would do great things for them. Regarding the warning against disobedience, Henry writes:

‘We do well to take heed of provoking our protector and benefactor, because if our defence depart from us, and the streams of his goodness be cut off, we are undone. Their land would extend from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea) and from the desert (the Negev south of Canaan) to the River (Euphrates). Notice the command to drive . . . out the inhabitants of the land. There were to be no treaties, no idolatry, no intermingling. God had already promised to destroy the wicked Canaanites, but Israel had to cooperate. This enshrines an important spiritual principle: God will give us victory over our enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil), but He expects us to fight the good fight of faith. Verse 33 finds its counterpart in 2Co_6:14-18. Separation from the world has always been God’s will for His people. Israel’s failure to obey this command led to her downfall. It is still true that ‘evil communications corrupt good manners.'”

Justification is Immediate – Sanctification is Gradual and Ongoing. Our LORD is the Author of both – “the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

“Looking unto Jesus” is much more than a one-time or casual acknowledgement of the Son of God. It’s an abiding relationship with Him which always, without fail, produces good fruit. Read John 15.

God requires compliance – true worship, obedience (Matthew 7:21; 25:1-13; John 13-15; 1 John 2:3-6, etc.).

After He saves you, you are not free to leave Him or treat Him…  and still be in Heaven. The Great Bridegroom Himself, Jesus, will shut the door on those who do not “endure to the end” with Him (Matthew 10:22; 24:13). Read His parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

How does sanctification happen? Notice what Jesus says to those who believed upon Him:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, IF ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32

Jesus continues… Remaining in the Father’s House …

“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34-36 

v35 – “the Son abideth ever”, continues, remains in the Father’s house, presence forever but the mere servant is not automatically, permanently kept in the house of God without condition. Those who commit, continue in sin will not remain in the Father’s house. Lucifer is the first sinner on record to be ejected from the Father’s house, His holy presence and then Adam and Eve who were also ushered out of the Father’s presence when they sinned (Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 12:7-9; Genesis 3). Fact: The LORD is “Holy, holy, holy” and forever holds the authority over who remains in His holy house, presence.

v36 Then we are brought into the promise land of victory over sin.

Those who believe the myth of eternal security only embrace it because they want no part of personal responsibility. “Depart from me” will be what they hear from Jesus when they die.

The LORD says He’s only with you as you remain, abide “with him.”

“The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” 2 Chronicles 15:2

Some who have created a false god in their own wicked imaginations (image), somehow arrogantly believe that those God saves somehow now control Him and what He, the Almighty does with them. Utter foolishness. Anyone who is saved and doesn’t “abide” (continue with, remain in), will be cast into the fires of hell irrevocably (John 15:6).

“It is a faithful saying: For IF we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 IF we suffer, we shall also reign with him: IF we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13

Notice in the passage above, that God “cannot deny HIMSELF” and yet “IF we deny him, he also WILL DENY Us.” Notice that it doesn’t say He can’t or won’t deny us!!! It actually declares that He “WILL deny us” … “if we deny him.”

While God justifies His saints when He saves them, sanctification transpires and is according to, in proportion to how that justified believer attends to and complies with the LORD instead of self – continues in His Word, knowing and obeying Him (John 15; Romans 6; Ephesians 4:21-32, etc.). The cross is central to this putting off the old man, crucifying the deeds of the body (Luke 9:23-24; Colossians 3:1-17, etc.).

“WHERE is your faith?” asks Jesus (Luke 8:25).

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