Is Christ The Center Of Your Life?

Is Christ the Center of Your Life?

Sermon By: Evangelist Robert Osborne

Exodus 17:8-15

8. Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: (The Lord is my Banner)

Numbers 2:1-3

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah (which is a Lion) pitch throughout their armies:

Standard-a symbol carried on a pole and raised high in the air, like a flag, to rally a tribe or a group of warriors in battle.

Banner-a flag, ensign, streamer, or emblem attached to the end of a standard. Banners served as rallying points for military, national, or religious purposes.

In the First Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War, Gen. Thomas Jonathan Jackson was leading the Virginia troops of the Confederacy. One man from another division saw Jackson mounted on his horse, leading his troops, and pronounced, "There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" They did so, and the Confederacy won a decisive and surprising victory at the outset of the war, dashing the Union’s hopes for a quick victory. And Thomas Jonathan Jackson was thereafter known as Stonewall Jackson. That day, he was the "banner" for the Confederate troops. Although shots were flying all around them, they saw Jackson, standing before them, as impregnable as a stone wall, and rallied behind him. Similarly, the Lord is our banner. Although demands and accusations may be flying all around us, we are to look to the Lord who stands before us and rally behind him.

The story of Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte was a great Emperor of the French and his famous words were "He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat." In one of his battles he was beginning to lose and cried out to his trumpet bearer to sound retreat but instead he sounded reveille meaning press on. Napoleon and his army was being defeated but begin to press on three times Napoleon told his trumpet bearer to sound retreat but it always came out as reveille. Through this Napoleon’s army defeated their enemy. After battle Napoleon asked his trumpet bearer why he didn’t sound retreat as commanded and his reply was “Sir, I was never taught to play retreat. Because of this Napoleon’s army became the ultimate army because they pressed on. They had their eye centered on victory not defeat.

In the battle against Amalek Moses became Israel’s center focal point and as long as the kept their eye on him and his rod was raised the Israelites prevailed but when his arms fell then the Israelites would lose. But thank God for some faithful servants of Moses named Aaron and Hur who was in one mind with their leader and they helped carry the load and the Israelites won the battle. Because of this win Moses made an altar and called it “Jehovah-nissi” (The Lord is My Banner) CHRIST IS THE CENTER OF MY LIFE and I WILL STAND BEHIND THE ALTAR. PRAYER raises the standard and lifts up the banner.

We all have great ministry’s and we will succeed and become greater when Christ and the Church becomes the CENTER OF ALL OF OUR LIVES! The Israelites center point of their city was the Tabernacle of God and they were faithful to it. We have got to be faithful to Christ and our church! You can’t get any strength unless you are faithful to church. The church is like a army and a army is in rank and file and nothing can break through rank and file. When we wave our banners we it is glories in the sight of God but it scares the enemy to death. We are of the tribe of Judah and Judah is praise.