November 13, 2011
Morning Worship
Text: Exodus 17:8-16
Subject: Fight Against the Enemy
Title: Three Reasons to Lift Your Hands in the Heat of Battle
I want to begin today by asking you to take the time to look around the whole church. Look at each person. Take a minute or so and look at everyone. If you have to stand up to do it that’s OK. It won’t distract anyone.
Now let me ask you a question – As you looked around what did you see? Some may see just bodies taking up space in a pew. There may be others who see victories through the lives of certain individuals as they look around. Still others will look at individuals and see an opportunity for prayer – needs that are waiting to be met, and struggles that are waiting to be overcome, and battles waiting to be won. What do you see?
The truth of the matter is that as we look and see these differences all around the congregation we all are in a battle – we may just be in different stages of battle.
In our bible story today I want you to be able to understand a little better what is taking place so we need to do a quick study on Amelek. First of all, Israel was not battle hardened. At this point they were just months out of captivity in Egypt. They were brick layers and shepherds and farmers – not soldiers. The Amelekites, on the other hand, were wanderers who moved from territory to territory with their flocks to wherever the pasture could support them. When they refused to allow Israel to pass through it wasn’t because they were defending their homeland. It was because they didn’t want to share any of the grazing land. As the people of God walked toward the Promised Land the Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 25:17-18, 17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. Amelek was attacking the weak, the aged, the young – all those who were not able to keep up with the rest but would lag behind.
That is a great picture of the spiritual warfare that is taking place in this church right now.
But now, just as then, God has an answer for the attacks from the enemy.
Read Exodus 17:8-16.
Three reasons for raising your hands in battle…
1. Raising your hands in surrender to God guarantees the battle…
2. Raising your hands in prayer fights the battle…
3. Raising your hands in thanksgiving and praise finishes the battle…
Everyone hold up your bibles…
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I appropriate its promises to my life…
In Jesus’ name.
Three reasons for raising your hands in the battle.
I. RAISING YOUR HANDS IN SURRENDER TO GOD GUARANTEES THE BATTLE… As I said before, the Israelites were not many days out of the bondage of Egypt. They had seen the great blessings and miracles that God had worked on their behalf. They were called out of bondage by God – they were His people. If you go back to the beginning of the book of Exodus we see a people who were in bondage but didn’t really seem to know it. They were working as slaves building the cities of Egypt – really, building the kingdom of the enemy, the god of this world… It was not until the people of Egypt began to trust God that the battle began. Exodus 4:29-31, 29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Now, a question to think about… Was this really a territorial battle or was there something else going on? If we look at what that passage in Deuteronomy 25 says about the Amalekites we see the real source of the conflict… they had no fear of God. Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. What do we know about the Amalekites? They did not fear God. They were fools. 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. This was the place where God had just miraculously given them water from the rock to quench their thirst. God does a miracle and the enemy attacks. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” This staff that Moses carried with him to the top of the hill is his shepherds’ staff. Look at the significance of this staff. 1) while shepherds sat around the fire at night they would carve on the staff and each carving would represent a detail of the shepherd’s life – a wife taken, or a child born or some other significant event so that when the shepherd is out in the fields he can remember those events of his life. Moses, like every shepherd, carried his life history on his staff. Now that is important to remember because when God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, He told him to throw his staff down. Exodus 4:1-3, 1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground…” The command was for Moses to lay his life down and trust God. 2) There wasn’t anything magical about the staff – it was a point of contact through which God could work. Here is the pattern that Moses gives us. If we lay down our lives in obedience to God we can trust Him to work through us. He told Joshua, “You draw up the battle plan. I’ll go up on the mountain and expect God to do something miraculous.” When you raise your hands in submission to God, you will know you are in a battle.
II. RAISING YOUR HANDS IN PRAYER FIGHTS THE BATTLE… 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. Look at three aspects of spiritual warfare that are taking place here. 1) There are those who confront the enemy face to face on the natural plain. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Spiritual battles always spill over into the natural realm. Bob and Jill Johnson go into the streets of East St. Louis on Friday nights passing out coffee and snacks in the winter time to the prostitutes and homeless. In the summer the give personal hygiene packs. They minister to the least of the least desirables. They and others like them are on the front lines of battle. They are the Joshua’s of the church. Maybe you are one of those that is willing to take the good news to those who are lost. You are a Joshua, ready for battle. 2) There are those who intercede for those in battle. Moses was there on a hill overlooking the battle with his trusty shepherd’s staff. Now what good could he do from the top of a mountain? 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. Some think that this was a sign to the army. When Moses’ arms were lifted fight… when they were down, retreat… I don’t think that was it at all. While Moses’ hands were raised the power of intercessory prayer was at work. This passage shows us not only the importance of prayer for the work of the church, but also the extreme physical and spiritual fatigue that comes with it. Moses got to the point where he just couldn’t hold his hands up any longer. Is that what God wants us to do – to weary ourselves to the point of fatigue? He wants us to be about His work, but when we get fatigued He has an answer for us. Jeremiah 31:25, I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… 3) There are others who lift up the intercessors. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Maybe you have never noticed it before, but when we have an invitation for prayer many times I will invite Larry and Judy to come and help or sometimes Jim or Julie… You probably don’t know it but one of their functions is to pray for me as I am praying for you. They are holding my hands up, as it were, while I am interceding for you. This story of Israel and the Amalekites is not just a history of the nation, but it establishes a spiritual principle. We are not in the battle alone. Somebody has to fight. Somebody has to pray. And somebody has to serve. The result? 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
III. RAISING YOUR HANDS IN PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING FINISHES THE BATTLE. You know, there are so many scriptures that tell us that our lives are under the control of what comes out of our mouths. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouths speaks… The tongue has the power of life and death… We must learn to make positive confessions of God’s word into our lives. Mark 11:24, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. That means thanking God for His promise even before you see it in your life. Do you think that is what Moses was doing on the mountain… not just praying but claiming God’s word for Israel? “God, You said You were going to take us to the Promised Land. Don’t let this enemy stand in our way. I thank you for the victory that You have promised.” 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” The Lord didn’t say to Moses, “Make sure that Joshua reads it…” He said, “Make sure he hears it…” 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” Three things to see… 1) The LORD is my Banner. When ancient armies went to war they would be accompanied by a standard bearer – a flag or banner. The armies would use this as a rallying point around which to fight. It was the symbol of their nation or kingdom – the very reason they were fighting – and strengthened their resolve. “The Lord is my banner. The Lord is my reason for fighting this great spiritual battle. Psalm 124:1-5, 1 If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say— 2 if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, 3when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive;4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters would have swept us away. 2) …For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD… What do you think Moses was referring to? Was it just that he was praying? Psalm 63:3-5, 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 3) …The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation… This is the Lord’s battle. As long as we fight, as long as we intercede, as long as we worship and praise He will continue the fight against the enemy. 1 Samuel 17:47, All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
We are in a great spiritual battle. The church is at war and there are many wounded warriors all around us. The point of the sermon today is not as much about the battle as it is about the battlers. Joshua went to battle against the enemy but he didn’t go alone. He was covered by Moses’ prayer and thanksgiving. Moses went up on the mountain and lifted his hands toward heaven but when he tired, there were Aaron and Hur to hold his hands up for him.
I asked you at the beginning of the sermon to look around at those who are here this morning. There are all kinds of God’s people here – warriors, intercessors and helpers. There are others who just seem to have been collateral damage from the war. They weren’t in the battle but the enemy has attacked anyhow. They aren’t intercessors but the enemy keeps their attention focused on their own problems rather than those of others. They aren’t helpers – they just don’t have the strength for it.
Good news… That is what you are here for. You can go to battle for them. You can intercede and you can hold up their hands. And while you are doing that there will be others who are holding up your hands or interceding on your behalf, or who are right there on the front line with you watching your back.
Warriors
Intercessors
Helpers
Wounded
Three reasons to lift your hands:
To initiate the battle…
To pray through the battle…
To give thanksgiving and praise for the victory in the battle…
