Slide #1
Video –(welcome to our church)
Welcome-guests
Introduction:
During the summer of 1904 an unlikely partnership was formed at the World’s Fair in St. Louis.
The summer was unusually hot and people were searching the fair for something to help cool them off…
A vendor named Arnold had just what they were looking for… ice cream.
People lined up for what seemed like miles to get some of his cool and satisfying ice cream but there was one problem.
Arnold was not prepared for the demand and ran out of paper bowls.
Next to Arnold’s ice cream booth was a man named Ernest… a pastry chef … who was making a Persian wafer desert.
Ernest also had a problem, his pastry was not selling.
He noticed the problem Arnold was having and took some warm pastry and rolled it into a cone shape.
He then went over and showed Arnold how the cone could hold a scoop of the ice cream.
On that hot day during the World’s Fair in St Louis… the wafer ice cream cone was born because a partnership was formed.
How important are Partnerships in life?
How important are partnerships to you?
How important are partnerships to God?
Open your bibles to Exodus 17:8-13.
It’s in these 5 verses where we find 4 partnerships that hold great value that need to be identified.
Partnerships have the ability to change not only the lives of the people involved in them…but also the lives of all those around them.
Follow along as I read this morning …READ Exodus 17:8-13
Prayer
The first partnership I want you to notice this morning is the partnership between…
Slide #2 Moses & God
Verse 9.b “Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
God and Moses had been in a partnership for many years before this battle took place.
Many times in the past Moses had personally witnessed God fighting right alongside him in the battles of life.
Moses had witnessed God do many incredible things through his Sheppard’s staff that he carried with him everywhere.
The staff that Moses was preparing to led Joshua and the Israelites into battle with…was not your typical piece of wood.
Before the Exodus began… Moses had approached Pharaoh to ask him to set the captives free.
This was the staff that God turned into a serpent to try to prove to Pharaoh who the one true God was.
It also was the same staff that Moses used to part the Red Sea when Pharaohs army was attacking them during the Exodus…
This staff was also used to tap on a rock to provide water for the complaining children of Israel while wandering around the desert…
This staff had God written all over it…it held great power…and Moses knew as long as he held it out front…God would prevail.
So when Moses made the statement in verse 9…He was expecting nothing less than…God to show his power just like He had in the past.
So the next morning just as he said “Tomorrow I will Stand…”…Moses heads up the hill with the staff of God leading him and the Israelite army into battle against Amalek and the Amalekites.
Moses knew that in order for the Israelites to be victorious in this battle God must be seen as the spiritual leader.
Everything was going just as Moses had planned… Joshua and the Israelites were winning the battle until one little issue came up.
We read about this issue in verse 11… “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Simply…Moses was getting tired…can you imagine trying to hold up just your arms for the whole day…let alone adding in the weight of the staff.
I believe that Moses had total confidence in His partner…(God).
The problem was…Moses was just a man.
Moses knew that if the Israelites were to win this battle… God would have to lead them to victory.
Wouldn’t it be nice if today we had the staff available to help us fight the battles in our lives..(WE DO…BIBLE)
The Second partnership I want you to notice from our reading this morning is the partnership between…
Slide #3 Moses and Joshua
Vs9….So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek… Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek,
Moses knew that not only could he count on God to stand by him in the battle…but he also knew that he could count on Joshua as well.
Moses knew Joshua was a natural born leader…Joshua had proven his loyalty by being a General in the Israelite army under Moses command.
It was here that Joshua gained valuable experiences that helped to prepare him for the much greater battles that were soon to come in his life.
This is why Moses asked Joshua to “choose men” who were willing to fight.
He knew he could count on Joshua to be prepared when the time came to act.
Not only was Joshua a gifted leader…he was also a faithful friend…
Still today…God is looking for people who are willing to partner alongside of Godly leaders.
God is looking for people who are willing to stand up and fight for what is right…no matter what opposition they face.
God needs you…the church needs you…and your Pastors need you.
Moses and Joshua were wise men…they both knew they needed to partner together… in order to accomplish the work God had asked them to do.
The same is true in the church today… we all need to partner together to accomplish God’s work.
The simple truth is we accomplish more together than they ever could individually.
What every church needs is unity that is created through a spiritual partnership.
Partners don’t fuss over who does what… Partners don’t fight over getting their own way… Partners don’t give up when things don’t go right... Partners don’t focus on personal gain.
Partners don’t allow division to halt God’s progress.
Do you think Joshua could have held the staff high in the air and lead the army at the same time? Not very easily…
Do you think Moses could have held the staff up and lead the army at the same time?
This is exactly why Moses went up on the Hill with Aaron and Hur during the battle.
By going to the highest place…this allowed Joshua and the rest of the Israelite army to see that God was leading them into battle.
There is great power in partnerships…Not only do both parties win…God’s name gets glorified.
The Third partnership I want to share with you is the partnership between…
Slide #4 Moses…Aaron and Hur
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, the Amalekites prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him,
And he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Nothing that happens in this life is by accident.
That morning when Moses told Joshua and the people that he would be standing on the hill holding God in his hand to lead them into victory.
God knew that eventually Moses’ arms would give out…this is why God sent along Aaron and Hur.
When Moses arms could no longer holdup the staff…Aaron and Hur noticed the need…acted and helped God… Moses…Joshua and the Israelites win the battle.
That day on top of the hill God’s presence was seen because of partnerships.
First through Moses and his staff…as long as the staff (God) was held up…victory was found.
Second… through Joshua and the Israelite Army. (there is unbeatable power in number…)
And third… through Aaron and Hur…
These two ordinary men revealed… not just to Moses and Joshua…but too the whole Israelite army if you just believe…God will provide.
This is what God needs to see here at Vista Pointe.
He needs to see ordinary people like you and I standing up to help…and show that we are not afraid to fight.
I can only imagine how strong the church would be today if this type of belief was sincerely put into place.
The Fourth and most important partnership I want to share with you this morning is the partnership between…
Slide #5 God and You
This is a partnership that you have to be willing to start.
To many times we pray for God to show us a sign that He is real…or that He even loves us.
God is waiting for you to make the second move…He already made the first at the cross.
Close with the statement… “Nothing in this life happens by accident”…then share how the five missionaries who reached out to the Uganda rain Forrest tribe from the Movie “The End of the Spear” changed the lives of all those close to them because they gave their lives for Christ.
Stand…
He placed you first in His life…He sent His Son to die…so that you could live.
In all honesty this is the most important partnership that you will ever be in.
If you’re here today and don’t know who Christ is…let me share this with you.
You may not realize this…but every battle you fight in your life…He is right by your side…waiting on you to ask Him for help.
He wants you to believe in Him…
And if you’re here today and do know who Christ is…
The way you’ve been living your life the past year…can He count on you to stand firmly by Him in the battle?
Church…time is running out…and what you do tomorrow counts…
