Intro – I’ve told the story before, but it’s real significant to me. We were living in OH. I’ll never forget the day that Brian came into my office. He said he needed to talk to me, and closed the door. That’s sometimes not a good sign. Then, he sat down, and proceeded to shower me with words of encouragement. He was aware that it had been a challenging season at the church, and he just wanted me to know that he appreciated me. He went on for a few minutes doing this. After I got off the floor and came to, I thanked him. I told him that he probably didn’t realize just how much he had done with that visit. I’ll never forget it, because I was a person who needed an encouraging word, and he delivered it.
As it turns out, I’m not the only person who sometimes needs a word of encouragement, so I figured it makes sense to look the story of Exodus 17 in that light today.
Israel is free – and out in the desert. They faced challenges there, as anyone would. They whined for water, they whined for food. God took care of their needs. And now, right after God gives them water out of a rock, there’s a new problem:
V8: Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
The Amalekites. They’ll be a problem for Israel for many more years. But this time they’re especially a problem. Remember, Israel had no army. So…
Exodus 17:9-10
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.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
He didn’t say, send out the army. There is no army! Joshua is going to lead their first military action. It’s going to be with “some of” their men that Joshua would choose. And, oh yeah, it’s tomorrow!
But did you notice that Israel has a secret weapon? What is it – armies of angels inside a secret box? Fire from heaven? The earth, opening up and swallowing the enemy? What is the secret weapon that Israel is counting on? A stick.
Moses’ staff, a rod, was just a piece of wood when we first saw it in ch 4. God asked Moses, “What’s that in your hand?” A rod. A staff. A piece of wood. But, in v20 it becomes more: “The staff of God.” Aaron threw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Aaron stretched it out over the Nile, and the water turned to blood. He stretched it out over Egypt, and the frogs came. He struck the ground with it, and the dust of Egypt turned into gnats. Moses stretched it toward the sky, and it started the plague of hail. He stretched it out over Egypt, and the plague of locusts came. He raised it at the Red Sea, and God parted the sea so that Israel could cross. He struck the rock at Rephidim, and water gushed out.
That stick was more than just a stick, because God used it to do significant things. I really doubt Moses would have chosen a stick to be the center of so much attention. But, by now, it doesn’t matter. God wants to use it, so Moses won’t fight it.
How many of us hear God calling us to do something for Him, and we look at what we have, and it doesn’t really look like much. “What’s that in your hand?” Or maybe you look at the mirror and think the same thing: not much here to work with. You have to consider the history of this stick in Moses’ hand. It’s the very center of some major work that God does. God doesn’t need a lot to work with. He can take a very simple thing and do a lot with it – even a stick can go from being just a shepherd’s staff to being “The Staff of God!” When God’s at work, even the simplest tool can be used for big things!
(OK, hold up your hands now!)
So, there’s a battle going on. Moses, Aaron, and Hur are up on the top of a hill watching. God has obviously given some direction to Moses, so that
v11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Is this raised hands thing a big deal? It looks like the outcome of the battle is going to depend on it! That’s a big deal. In fact, Israel is going to win, and when it’s all said and done, Moses is going to build an altar, name it “Jehovah is my banner” and then say, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD.”
When hands were lifted to God, the war was being won. There’s something about that lifting of hands that we ought to notice. It served no military purpose. It simply acknowledged that the battle belonged to the Lord. It did. As long as hands were lifted to God, the battle was being won.
Isn’t that true of the Church? As long as that’s our position before God – as long as we’re counting on Him and depending on Him and not afraid to admit it, we’ll experience victory! There’s something to be said about literally raising our hands to God, if it’s a way of showing our dependence on Him. In case you’ve ever wondered, it’s OK to raise your hands! In fact, it’s a command of Scripture that we’ve found convenient to neglect because we shy away from being associated with those churches that do wild things like say “Praise God!” or “Amen!” real loud.
The battle wasn’t won by raising hands, but Moses still needed to do it. When he put his hands down, they started to lose. It wasn’t won by Israel’s army fighting, but they still needed to fight. It was won by God, Who gave His people something to do, and then He did all the work anyway. (Getting tired yet?) Moses did.
Sometimes, when we’re trying to do something good for God, we get tired, just like Moses grew tired holding up his hands. You can do that only for so long. You can hold them up by yourself only for so long. After a while, you may start to drop them! Moses’ hands grew tired.
So what did they do? I want you to notice what they did first:
12a But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it,
I picture that Moses started out standing up, holding up the staff of God. Aaron and Hur are watching Moses start to sweat
(You guys sweating yet?)
Because, doing that for long is hard. So, they have him sit down – on a rock – not a desert cactus, not a tree – a rock. If you want to be the biggest help to someone, you need to make sure they’re on the right foundation to start with – that’s Jesus. I’ll talk more about that later. Then,
12b 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.
Think about the important role of sidekicks: Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson. The Lone Ranger had Tonto. Batman had Robin. The Green Hornet had Cato. Frodo had Sam. Han Solo had Chewbacca. Indiana Jones had Sallah. Winnie the Pooh had Piglet. In the movie Castaway, Tom Hanks had a volleyball named “Wilson.” Great heroes have sidekicks. They need them. Of course, that’s in the world of make-believe.
In real life, Moses couldn’t do it alone either. He needed people at his side. The task was too much for him to do it on his own. He needed an Aaron and a Hur to hold up his hands.
How many times have you been there yourself? You’re wanting to do what needs to be done. Others are counting on you. But you need someone to help hold up your hands. You need an Aaron and a Hur. You need someone at your side who will help you.
Who do you have? If you can’t answer that this morning, I’m praying that by the time you leave here today, you’ll be able to say there’s someone by your side to help you.
v13-16 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
(OK, you can put your hands down)
The title of this message is “Everyone Could Use a Holdup.” That’s where Moses was – and that’s where you and I are. The subject is really pretty simple: we all need someone to help us out now and then. It’s a command of Scripture, in fact, and it comes with different names, but it’s basically the command and the need we all have for encouragement.
So, I want to talk about that for the rest of our time and to leave here more encouraged and better encouragers.
The Bible talks about this with different words – like encouragement, edifying, refreshing, and helping. I looked through all of these, trying to find some common threads, and here’s what I found:
1. A lot of people need encouragement
Tired people need encouragement.
Life can get pretty demanding. Someone, who needed encouragement, wrote:
Six-thirty is my time to rise, But I'm seldom bright of eye;
Part of me says, "Look alive!" And the other part asks, "Why?"
Downcast people need encouragement. That one’s pretty easy.
People who are undertaking a great task need encouragement. That includes leaders. They need a hold up.
Deuteronomy 3:28
But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see."
2 Chronicles 35:2
[Josiah] appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord's temple.
The Scriptures acknowledge that those who lead need encouragement in order to be good leaders. I want to take a couple of minutes this morning, and encourage some of our leaders here.
(Have elders and staff stand. Have people gather around them. Stick a hand on them, and someone there pray for them. You have one minute. Then, I’ll pray!)
Everyone else in the Church needs encouragement.
I found at least 21 places in the NT where there’s either a command or an example of all the people in the Church encouraging each other. Like:
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
It’s not just a great idea. It’s God’s design for His Church. Part of the reason we’re supposed to be together is to encourage each other. It’s not just enough to be in the same room. We need to take seriously the command to build up one another.
I’m also impressed by the number of outstanding people who needed encouragement.
Paul told the
2 Corinthians 7:13
By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
Paul was free to admit that he was relying on the encouragement that he received from other Christians.
But perhaps more important is that Jesus Himself demonstrated the need for help.
Jesus, praying and struggling in the Garden of Gethsemane, was hurting. His disciples were worn out, and they dozed off. Jesus was beginning to feel the weight of the sins of the world placed on His shoulders.
I like the way the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” pictures Jesus’ struggle, but there’s a feature left out. Luke records that struggle, and also that an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. At the time of great burden, Jesus needed encouragement.
You need to recognize 2 different people who could stand to be encouraged this morning:
1. you; 2. everyone else!
When you’re willing to admit that you have had times you needed encouragement, it becomes easier to accept that other people need it too. When you need to be encouraged, you’re in good company. It’s OK. A lot of people need encouragement.
2. There are a lot of ways to encourage people
story - Mary Cooper, Lowell, Michigan – a preschool student of hers had a habit of patting her on the seat of her pants. She tried several things to get him to stop, but nothing worked. He finally ended up in the timeout chair.
When his dad came to pick him up, Mary mentioned it to him quietly to see if he had any insight on the situation. The dad kind of smiled and proceeded to explain that his son really liked football. He had asked his daddy why the players “spanked” each other. He said, “I told my son that they were telling each other what a good job they were doing." I guess this little boy thought his preschool teacher was doing a good job!
Story - Hugs are encouraging. There’s a lot of encouragement to be found in a well-timed hug. Unless you live in Dunellon, FL. There, in the church where my mother was a member, some members began to complain that people were in the habit of giving out hugs. So, they kind of announced that there shouldn’t be any more hugging in that church. My mom was out somewhere and mentioned her church to a lady. “Oh, you go to that church where they don’t hug!” Great! You know what? If you’re so offended by hugs and afraid that you might get hugged, just stop showering and brushing your teeth. It will lower the odds that you’ll be hugged!
As I dug through the Bible looking at this subject, I found several ways to build up other people:
Words
Acts 20:2 - When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece.
Remaining faithful
1 Thessalonians 3:7 - for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.
Showing God’s grace
Acts 11:23 - When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
Being together
Hebrews 10:25 - not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
One of the ways that Paul encouraged other Christians was just by being around each other. He often his traveling companions to visit other churches so that they could share news of each other. Sometimes just our presence at critical times is a great encouragement.
If we’re going to take seriously the command to encourage each other, we’re going to have to be students of how to encourage each other. I’ve just scratched the surface here. There are a lot of ways to put this into practice. Make a commitment this morning that you won’t leave this place without doing it at least once.
3. The cross of Jesus should give us the greatest encouragement
We are on the heels of the Easter season. One important aspect of that is a focus on the suffering of Jesus and the whole scene of the cross. We make a big deal of that, which might seem kind of backwards to someone who doesn’t pay attention to what it’s all about.
“What’s so encouraging about the cross?”
I want to answer that as a way of encouraging us all this morning.
1. The cross gives me a glimpse of how deeply Jesus loves me.
I have a grand-dog named Apollo. Apollo thinks I’m great. You might say Apollo loves me…in a dog way. At least, that’s how he acts, because he wants me to rub his belly, or especially to be taken for a walk. When he sees me, he gets excited and wags his tail.
My children love me. Each of them are in the habit of saying that when they say goodbye on the phone or in person. That has become an important habit in our family. And they do things from time to time that remind me that they really do love me. I believe they do. I could go on with stories of the pictures on our wall, the things I’ve saved, and the memories we’ve created.
My grandchildren love me. Their faces light up when we chat with them on the phone. They run to me for a hug when we get together. It’s my job as a grandpa to be loveable for my grandchildren, and I believe they really do love me.
My wife loves me. She gave up her last name for me. She entrusted her future to me. She pledged her faithfulness to me, and gave me a symbol of that pledge to remind me. Every day, in lots of ways, I’m reminded that my wife loves me. And you know what? It encourages me to be reminded that I’m loved by my family – even the grand-dog!
But when I consider the suffering of Jesus, when I focus on what He gave, I’m reminded of what Jesus said is the greatest love. I have a glimpse of His love when I consider that my God would give up Heaven, come live as a man, and then die the death He died.
2. The cross reminds me that my way is paid.
Rather than having the suffering of Jesus depress us, it ought to remind us that Jesus accomplished that for us because we couldn’t do it on our own. We owed a debt we couldn’t pay. The payment for sin is death, but Jesus paid that debt for us on the cross. He was the only One qualified to do that, because He’s the only One Who didn’t owe it himself.
When I think of Heaven, and how much I’d like to be there one day, I also think about how Jesus paid the way for me to be there. That’s sure more encouraging to me than counting on my own goodness!
3. The cross isn’t the end!
That’s the greatest news of the Easter story! The suffering of Jesus isn’t the end of Jesus – not at all. The greatest encouragement of the whole cross event is that it ended just as Jesus said: with an empty tomb 3 days later, and Him preparing a place for us and one day returning to take us to be with Him!
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
This morning, we want you to be encouraged that there is a Savior Who loves you – to the degree that He would rather die than to have heaven without you. That’s what the cross is all about.
Will you accept that love this morning?
