'Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "sssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.
The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do ... she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who'd initially written about the event contact Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."'
This story comes from Max Lucado’s book “In the Eye of the Storm.” And, I share it with you because I think it does a good job at describing a successful attack from the enemy. The devil likes to attack us in such a way, that like Chippie, we never see it coming. He likes to grab us when we least expect it, and when he attacks, it’s often in a very normal, unassuming, seemingly innocent way. As a result, we are left sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if we’re Christians! Not if we’re prepared for the battle and ready to fight the fight that isn’t against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).
I wonder why the Church is so often defeated. Where is the voice, the power, and the confidence of the Church? Shouldn’t the Church be full of bold and confident people? We follow the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6). Shouldn’t we be living like we have the Way, the Truth and the Life?
Shouldn’t our spiritual success be obvious to everyone, or at least to ourselves? Not in a way that is arrogant or self-assured, but in a way that is full of calm, gentle, assurance.
Well, if that’s the case, then why does the Church always seem to be on the defensive instead of the offensive? Why do we often seem angry and overwhelmed—instead of being full of peace, joy and grace?
Does the present reality of Christ’s Church jibe with the words of the Apostle John found in 1 John 5:4? We just looked at these words a few weeks ago: “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Did you catch what John said? EVERYONE BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES THE WORLD. No “should”, or “could”, or “might” even crosses his mind. Neither did a “some”, or a “few,” or even a “many”, no it’s EVERYONE-- BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES THE WORLD!!”
And in John’s mind, how does everyone born of God overcome the world? How does every Christian overcome the world? By faith—faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
I like the way the Word paraphrases verse 4, it’s says, “Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.” Don’t you just love that image? Faith can and will bring the world ways to its’ knees.
Now, you will remember, since we just recently finished 1 John, that the victory we have over the world, by faith, is an internal victory, or a personal victory. We don’t bring the world to its knees, we bring the world IN US to its knees. The world is defeated in the attitude of our heart as each of us overcomes the message, the doubt, and the error of the world in our lives, by clinging to the truth of Christ by faith.
When we consider the battle each one of us is in, as Christians, we have to understand that the battle rages on three fronts.
First of all we have the enemy. In 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter tells us: “Be
self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
And Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)
Notice that our enemy is on the prowl. He is hungry and looking to do some serious damage. Notice also that he is organized and that he has troops both in this dark world and in the heavenly or spiritual realms. So the first front we have to fight on is against the devil.
But then we read in Ephesians 2, that, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
In this passage Paul gives us the other two fronts for the battle: ‘the world,’ which refers to the rebellious, independent, unbelieving attitude found in the world that seeks to distract us and cause us to doubt and rebel against God.
And then we also have our ‘sinful nature,’ or ‘the flesh’ which is the conduit in our hearts that finds itself attracted to the desires and thoughts of the world.
his is the devil’s trap door into our lives. This is really the place that the battle rages most often and that is why Paul tells us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)
Now this is something we often get mixed up about. We think that when we gave ourselves to Christ and claimed His promises by faith, in Christian Baptism, that the old self died and we became a new creation. Well, that is exactly what happened. We became a new creation. We were adopted into the family. We were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, but that doesn’t mean that we still don’t have to put to death the flesh.
The fact of the matter is that before our transformation into new life, we couldn’t hope to put to death anything to do with our earthly nature. It was impossible because we simply didn’t have the strength. It is only because we are a new creation that we now have the capacity to put to death the sinful nature. And notice that it is we who must put it to death. God gives us the capacity to do it, but we must make the choice to do it. So even though we are transformed we still have a battle on our hands.
So this is the nature of the battle we are in. It is a battle waged by the enemy. It is a battle that surrounds us in the attitudes and actions of people in this world and it is a battle that finds its source outside of the realm of this world. It isn’t against flesh and blood. It is spiritual and it finds its source in the spiritual realm. More than that, it is also a battle that is fought, most of all, from within as we have the potential to allow ourselves to be dragged away and enticed by our own evil desires (James 1:14).
The question is: How do we find victory in the battle? How do we have a good fight that defeats the enemy? How do we put to death the sinful nature and effective shut down the devil’s trap door into our lives?
Today we continue with in our Mountain Moment series by looking at the Mountain of Victory. Actually, I have a confession to make, today’s sermon is based on a hilltop experience, not a mountaintop experience, but hey, one man’s hill is another’s mountain right? And if you don’t find the sermon useful, you can accuse me of making a mountain out of a molehill.
Please turn with me to Exodus 17:8-16
As you turn there, let me give you a bit of context. Moses has obeyed God’s call to go back to Egypt and confront Pharaoh and the Israelites have been freed from bondage in Egypt. They have crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh and his armies were defeated by God.
Now the work begins. The people have to grow in their relationship with God. They have to learn to trust Him so that they will also listen to and obey Him.
Then in chapter 16 you have the question of food coming up. The people grumble and God provides food for them. Then at the beginning of chapter 17 you have a crisis of thirst. The people needed water, so God provides water. God has proven Himself trustworthy at the most basic levels of food and water and now He is going to prove Himself trustworthy in giving the Israelites protection from their enemies.
Beginning in verse 8 we read: “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 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." 10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 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. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 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." 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."
Ok, the first question you’re probably asking is: what’s an Amalekite? Well the Amalekites were a nomadic people that roamed the southern desert of the Negev. They were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother, so they were related to the Israelites. But sometime family doesn’t count for much—at least that’s the case we have before us in today’s account. No doubt the Amalekites considered the Israelites as a strain on the already scarce water supply, as well as an opportunity to make some money, so they began to attack them.
But the attack isn’t quite as straight forward as Exodus 17 leads us to believe.
In Deuteronomy 25:17, 18, we are told, "Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 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.”
The Amalekites were a cruel people: a people who had no problem killing off the old, the young and the weak. They hit people when they least expected it. They were a people who had no fear of God. A people who wandered back and forth, seeking anyone they might devour. Sound familiar?
As a result over and over again God condemned these people. Deuteronomy 25:19 tells us, “When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” Obviously, God detests those who prey on the weak, and the old and the young. A fact we need to remember! But, more than that, the Amalekites became a type, or a symbol of the struggle between God’s people and the Evil One.
Just as the Amalekites tried their best to stop the progress of God’s people and keep them from the Promised Land, the Evil One continues in this very same battle with God’s people today. It is a battle of bondage to sin. It’s a battle of falsehood and error. It’s a battle to confound the purpose of Christ in His Church. And just like the Amalekites, Satan prays on the stragglers, the weak.
But what we really need to see from this passage is that God’s people were victorious. When the battle begins, Joshua is called to lead the armies of Israel, and Moses goes up on a hill to overlook the battle. Aaron and Hur go with him. We don’t know too much about Hur except that he was a leader. It is Hur and Aaron that are left in charge of God’s people when Moses goes up on the mountain to receive God’s Law. Now we read that when Moses lifted up the rod with both hands, the Israelites would begin to win the battle, and when Moses lowered the rod, the Amalekites began to win.
Strange! What kind of a game is this? God could have wiped the Amalekites out without the help of the Israelite army, or Moses, so why did Moses have to hold up the rod?
Well, we know that God has a reason for all that He does and we also know that God likes to teach us through symbols so that we can better remember and understand a spiritual truth. This battle would become a very important lesson for God’s people, particularly at this early stage in their relationship with God. That’s why Moses commands the account to be written down so that everyone will remember what happened that day!
I want you to think about Moses’ rod for a moment. What did Moses’ rod symbolize to the Israelites? What did they know to be true every time Moses picked up and used that rod? The rod became a symbol of God’s power and activity. It was Moses’ rod that changed into a snake, and turned the Nile into blood. It was the lifting of the rod that parted the Red Sea, and just prior to this battle, God had brought forth water from the rock when Moses hit the rock with his rod. So Moses’ rod was the visible symbol of God’s activity.
When the rod was lifted up by Moses, Moses was calling upon the Lord and His power to bring forth the victory. And to make that point even clearer, whenever Moses’ arms tired and the rod was lowered, the Israelites were fighting the battle in their own strength and they began to lose.
So this account isn’t just an amusing story. God was giving His people a picture of the process of victory: victory only comes when our actions are balanced with our faith. Yes, God expects us to go out and fight the battle. Moses commanded Joshua to go out with the army and fight the Amalekites. God’s people were expected to engage the enemy. God expects us to be active. He expects us to put to death the sinful nature. He expects us to engage in that battle,but the battle will never be won unless God’s people are dependent on God. Faith must be the source of all of our battle activities.
Let me illustrate that point by turning to Numbers 14:42-45. The context of this passage is that the spies had been sent into Canaan and returned to report that the people of the land were too strong to fight. If you’re familiar with the account you will remember that the people listened to spies and God declared that they would all die in the wilderness except for Caleb and Joshua. But, when the people heard about the consequences of their unbelief, they decided that fighting the people in Canaan was preferable to death in the desert so they entered the land.
Moses’ response is: "Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword." But the Israelites didn’t listen and in verse 44 we read, “Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord's covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah”
Notice they were fighting the very same enemy as in the passage we have before us today, but there are entirely different results. Why? God was not with them. They were trying to enter the Promised Land on their own power.
What’s interesting to me is that in both cases the people fighting were involved in the same activities. Both were fighting for their entrance into the land that God had promised. To any observer, there was no difference to their zeal, or activity. But, obviously their motivations were different, and certainly the power available to them was much different.
The question for us is: Do we try to win our battles in our own power? The Israelites presumed too much. How much do we presume when it comes to our faith? Do we just do our own thing and hope that God shows up?
Remember that 1 John 5:4, tells us that “The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.”
One last principle I want to leave with you. We can find it in verse 12 and 13, “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. So Joshua overcame the Amalekites army with the sword. . .”
Moses was unable to keep his arms up by himself. He wasn’t strong enough. He wavered between dependence upon God, and his own power. But when his arms lowered, thankfully there was someone to lift them up. Without the strength of Aaron and Hur supporting Moses there wouldn’t have been a victory that day.
There is another way to look at this passage in Exodus 17: Joshua and God’s people fight the enemy while Moses intercedes for them in prayer. After all, how do we battle the enemy in the strength of God? You pray.
No one is victorious in their faith all the time. At least no one I’ve ever met. Every one of us has times when we begin to lose the battle. We saw that in 1 John when John tells us to pray for those who are struggling in the battle. John writes: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life.” (1 John 5:16)
God knows how hard it is for us to give our lives to Him completely. He knows how easy it is for us to try to live in our own strength. He knows how hard the battle is sometimes and how difficult it can be to put to death the sinful nature. That is why He’s given us each other.
I love the image we have in Exodus 17. You have Moses interceding for Joshua and the rest of God’s people in the midst of the battle and then you have Hur and Aaron interceding for Moses. And their intercession was key to Moses’ intercession.
One thing is very clear from this passage: No one is going to win the battle on their own. That is why we have so many one another passages in Scripture.
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10)
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
We need to encourage one another.If we are going to win the battle we must lift one another's arm in prayer. In fact, I believe we have to be looking for those who are starting to let their arms fall and then we have to intercede on their behalf. We need to be instruments of encouragement. We need to be faith-builders.
We also need to seek strength from each other when we are weak. We can’t hide our weakness and then wonder why we are weak. We have God’s strength available to us through each other’s intercession.
We may not be fighting a physical battle with sword and spear but we certainly are fighting a spiritual battle. And it is God’s purpose today to remind us that He has given us all we need to be victorious in Him. None of us has gotten as far in the Lord as we have without the help of others. And, all of us can go much further with the help of each other. The question is: Are we willing to make that commitment?
This week I am giving you a “To Do” list. I want you to review you faith. And I want you to remember the people who have lifted your hands and I want you to thank God that He used them to be your Hur and Aaron.
Secondly, honour them and honour God by making a decision to become an arm-lifter. Be an encourager in the faith. Ramp up your prayers of intercession. Make a conscious effort to increase the amount of intercession you are making and specifically ask God to place on your heart those who need their arms lifted.
Everyone can lift up someone else’s hands—even if someone else is lifting up your hands. That is the image we have of Hur and Aaron lifting up Moses’ hands as he interceded for Joshua and the boys in the battle.
And, here is something else to consider: It is impossible to lift someone else’s hands without lifting your own. In strengthening someone else’s faith, your faith will be strengthened.
Finally, if you are in need of help, if you feel defeated, know that I and others are willing to lift your arms. Our prayer group is here to lift your arms. All you have to do is ask.
Israel's great victory over Amalek involved three elements: the power of God in heaven, the skill of Joshua and the army on the battlefield, and the intercession of Moses, Aaron, and Hur on the top of the hill.
The battle is won, by placing our compete trust and faith in Jesus Christ—the One who has already proven Himself victorious. It is won through engaging the enemy and realizing we are in a battle. It is won through interceding for each other.
May you avoid being sucked in, washed up, or blown over by the enemy in this coming week! May you never feel that your life or your faith are for the birds!
