I Could Not Have Done It Without You.
1 Chronicles 11:10-14 Romans 16:2-13
How do you feel when someone does something and they look at you and say, “I Couldn’t Have Done It Without You.” Today as we honor our lay pastors and look back at how God has used us in the past, we say, we could not have done it without you.
For those of you who do not know, our lay pastors are a group of people whose main function is to be a support to the pastors by acting as the pastors’ extension. They preach, they teach, they counsel, they pray, they meet, they train, and they learn to be more effective leaders.
No leaders can accomplish anything by themselves. David had his big 3 warriors and then there were 30 mighty men that the bible tells us about. Solomon had a cabinet to help him rule his kingdom. Paul had Barnabus at first and then all those people in Romans 16 to help him. Jesus even had 12 disciples and a number of women in his ministry. God intended for us to do his work together with the support and encouragement of others.
Our text come from Exodus 17:8-13. It is a very important time for God’s people. They had been slaves for 430 years in Egypt. God comes and delivers them just as he said he would. When the Egyptians finally let them go, they gave them all the gold, the silver, the money, the clothes that the people asked for. You see the last plague God had sent upon the Egyptians was the death of every first born male in every house and in every barn. When the Egyptians saw this, they demanded that the slaves leave.
Two chapters earlier than out text, the Egyptians changed their minds and sent the army to bring back the people. But God came to their aid and split the Red Sea for them to escape through. When the Egyptians followed, they were completed destroyed by the waters collapsing in on them.
The people were excited at this great victory as they marched toward the promise land that God had for them.
Just when you defeat Satan coming at you from one direction he shows up in another. This time the Amalekites decided to come in and attack. They were a fierce nomadic tribe who knew how to fight. They were organized as an army.
They heard about the people of Israel coming out of Egypt loaded down with goods and money. Not only that, what would a group of slaves know about organized warfare?. They figured, this thing was going to be a push over. They started it off by playing dirty. They attacked the stragglers at the rear of the convoy of some million people. This is the first army God’s people will have to actually fight themselves.
We see two well known men at the forefront. Moses appoints his aid Joshua to be the general of the army. He tells him to choose some of our men and go out and fight the Amalekites.
Tomorrow Moses would stand on top of the hill with staff of God in his hands. Then we see Moses invites Aaron, his brother to also go up on the hill with him. Aaron is well known by the people, he was the one who had spoken for Moses to Pharaoh. There is plenty about Aaron in the bible.
But then there is another guy who is invited to go up the hill with Moses by the name of Hur. Not that many people know of Hur. As a matter of fact Hur is only going to appear one other time in the Scriptures.
Hur is going to step up to do what’s needed to be done, and then he will fade back into the crowd. The role of Hur is the same as the role of lay pastors in the congregation. They come forward when they are called and when they are needed they serve, and then they go back into the crowd.
At times, we all like to think that when God calls us, it means we are going to always be in the lime light where others will see us. After all, we are doing what we’re doing for God to be glorified. But God’s call is not the same thing as being successful in the way success is defined by the world. To be the best for God, is not the same as being the best according to the world’s standards.
Did you know that Jesus sometimes hid from the crowds. Sometimes he intentionally got away from the spot light. Sometimes he mingled back in the crowds so that they did not even know that it was him.
This is a new experience for Moses and for Joshua. They never had to use their own people to fight in a battle before. These were former slaves not warriors, they were sending in battle. They did however have the staff God had given to Moses. When Moses raised that Staff in the past, things happened.
The battle began, and Moses would raise up his arms with the staff. And as long as he held that staff high toward the sky, Joshua and his new army would be pushing the enemy back. But Moses was human like us and his arms began to tire. When he stopped to take a break and let down his arms, the Amalekite army would start to win. When Moses got back up, Joshua and his army started to win, but as soon as Moses got tired again, the Amalekites would start gaining ground.
This thing could have gone into overtime, except for the presence of Aaron and Hur. They took matters in their own hands.
They first found a big enough stone for Moses to sit down upon. They brought it over to him to sit. They realized it wouldn’t be long before his legs got tired, and they did not know how long the battle would last. Then one grabbed one of his arms to hold it up, and the other one grabbed his other arm to hold it up, so that even if his arms needed a break, they would still be holding up the staff.
Lay Pastors are called to be like Aaron and Hur. Trying to see in advance what the pastors might need, and doing what it takes to give them support in carrying out what God had told them to do. You notice, they did not try to take over the job that Moses was called to do. Neither one of them grabbed the staff from Moses’ hand to lift it up. Moses was given one task and Joshua another. But Aaron and Hur were called to come alongside.
Do you remember the toughest night of Jesus’s life in the garden just before he was arrested to be crucified on the cross. He didn’t go deep into the garden by himself. He asked three of the disciples to go in with him for prayer and support. Sometimes we need to be willing to go where God tells us to go, because God knows that somebody is going to need us.
When the Israelites won the victory that day, it was a great celebration. Joshua was solidified as the undisputable military leader of the people. He would go on to win many, many more battles. We all know that it was Joshua who fought the battle of Jericho.
Moses was once again reaffirmed as the leader of God’s people. He was the man on the mountaintop holding the staff receiving God’s power. Aaron is exalted in the eyes of the people and is on his way to becoming the priest for the nation. The people will follow him just as willingly as they follow Moses. He is the one who gives the prayer of praise and thanksgiving in leading the congregation before God.
But Hur is going back to a simply ordinary life. Up on the hill, people could not see Hur and Aaron actually holding Moses’ arms up. They were more concerned with the battle. At a distance, it looked as though Hur wasn’t doing much of anything except standing next to Moses talking to him.
Hur doesn’t get much credit for his role in the battle. Hur does not got on to national prominence. He won’t even get to go into the promised land, yet we find him being faithful in this task that he was called to do. He had just as prominent role in securing victory for the Israelites as Aaron had in holding up one of the arms of Moses, yet it does not propel him forward in the eyes of the people in the same way.
Lay Pastors are often called to be like Hur. You get the job done, and you go take your seat.
Lay Pastors are not the only ones who are called to be Hur’s in the congregation. Today, I would like to pay tribute to every Hur in the crowd this morning. I would like to honor all those who are willing to take the second seat because that’s where the church needs them to be. You perform a function in the Body of Christ this is vital, but you never quite get all the credit that you deserve.
There are four characteristics of people like Hur that make them very special to the Kingdom of God.
First of all People Like Hur are Absolutely Invaluable.
If Hur had not gone all the way up the mountain with Moses and Aaron, Moses would not have had a seat upon which to sit, because it was Aaron and Hur that moved the rock. That tells me that Aaron could not have done it alone.
Hur’s job was a simple one, but simply because something is simple, does not mean that it’s not needed. Joshua and Moses could not have won the battle as quickly as they did if Hur had not been there to hold up one of Moses’ arms. How many lives were saved that day because Hur was present on the hill to end the battle more quickly? His presence was more important than Joshua’s right flank of soldiers.
One of the things that keep me saying no to temptation is the fact that some of you tell me, “I pray for you every day.” I found strength in your prayers to walk closer to God. Your prayers are the Hurs holding up my faith in God’s ability to keep me from temptation.
II. People Like Hur Are Always Involved in the life of the church and every ministry has to have some Hur’s in it to be successful.
Hur wasn't a great leader like Moses. He wasn't a great General like Joshua. He wasn't a great High Priest like Aaron. He wasn't a warrior like those in the army. He was just Hur. However, on this day, there was one thing Hur could do and he did it willingly, actively and faithfully. He could move a rock, he could hold up an arm and he did the best job he could! He probably got tired too, but he didn’t give up until the battle was one.
God is not going to ask us if we could do what others could do. He’s going to ask us if we did what we could do. You know, we really never know when we are doing a great thing for God until it’s all over and done with.
We need to remember that the Lord has placed us in His body in the place that pleased Him, 1 Cor. 12:4-27. Therefore, whether we are a highly visible part of the body, or an obscure, unnoticed part, we are all essential to the proper functioning of the body of Christ! Just think, have you ever taken the time to find out who put the toilet paper in the bathroom. You would if you reached to get some and it was gone.
III. People Like Hur Are Often Invisible (v. 12)
A. This man Hur is not mentioned before this incident and there is only one other time we see him again when he is to assist Aaron. This is a man who lived in the shadows while others around him received the glory. He was invisible to the crowd, who could only see Moses, Aaron and Joshua.
No one pats him on the back, no one tells him that he did a good job. In fact, only a couple of people know what he did that day. To the people, he is invisible, but in his heart, he is overjoyed because he knows that what people do not see, God does! While no one in camp is telling Hur that he did a great job that day, the Father in Heaven makes note of Hur's sacrifice and
IV. People like Hur silently make investments in the lives of others.
When we serve the Lord as we should, we are making an investment in the lives of other people. We don’t always know who we are influencing or who we are helping. Moses knew he owed a debt of gratitude to Hur for helping him out that day. But God knows. Jesus tells us, those things we are doing behind the scenes will have a reward all of their own. Every deed done for the cause of Christ is an investment in eternity - Mt. 6:19-21.
Hur’s willingness to step out of the limelight is what God is calling all of us to do. It’s hard to give up what we might think we deserve, especially when we believe we deserve even more.
Everything that Hur was willing to do for God in being humble, and in being obedient, Jesus Christ has willingly done for us. Jesus loved us so much, that he left heaven in order to come after us. He has established the church so that we can find help in discovering him.
Hurs are a type of Jesus Christ be cause Jesus too is 1)Invaluable, 2) Needed Everywhere, 3) Often Invisible, and 4) Always Making Investments In Others.
The Scriptures tell us
, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The four principles to take from Hur’s life I got from Dr. Alan Carr’s Sermon “Thank God For Guy’s Like Hur.”
