Who is God? The God who Wins!
(Jehovah Nissi: God my Banner)
Living the Victorious Life.
Exodus 17:8-16
“Trust in the Lord because He gives us victory in our lives, today.”
Introduction: - What is a “victorious life,” ?
- Compare Ps.23 with life of Paul.
- Give background of where Israel is in the story.
I. To have victory, you must engage in the battle God has called you to. (Ex. 17:8-9)
A. “What battle are you talking about?”
1. All Christians face battles.
2. Battles aren’t always a physical fight.
a. Rick and Bonnie and the new Sunday school
b. Nathan and Lance with the music.
c. Renee and the children’s musical.
3. All are engaged in a battle, sometimes with
themselves
B. We faced with opposition, we gave three choices:
1. Run from it. Moses sending Joshua/Israelites to
fight
a. Joshua: “Us! Fight them! The Amailkites were
fighters, bandits, land pirates. They know
how to fight. We know how to make bricks!
How can we fight?”
b. Israel had not been in a battle before this.
(God beat the Egyptians alone.) Israel knew
how to be slaves.
c. They chose to stand and fight because of
God’s promises of the new land.
2. Ignore it. How can we ignore a battle?
a. We are fighting a very different kind of
battle today.
- Similar to cancer. Unseen.
- Ignore the children, the lost. Worry about
us!
3. Engage in it. Accept the calling God has given
us.
- This is not enough to be victorious.
II. To have victory, you must rely on the power that God gives you. (Ex. 17:10-13)
A. What was Moses doing on that hill?
1. Was he acting as an encourager/inspiration?
a. Arms up, they were winning; Arms down, losing.
b. IE, The Patriot, movie. Mel Gibson waving
flag.
2. Moses was offering up his petitions to the Lord.
a. Moses: The world’s first power conductor.
b. Power conductor: Draws power from another
source and concentrates it to one location.
c. Moses was drawing upon the power of God
through prayer.
B. Moses was a great person. I’m just a nobody.
1. We have an advantage that Moses did not.
An Advocate. Jesus Christ.
2. We can pray “in Jesus name.”
What is that?
a. Some think that it is a secret password.
- “I said ‘in Jesus name’,so God has to do it.
b. Pray in accordance with and with the
authority of Jesus.
c. Illus.: Taken from Ronald Dunn, "Don’t just
stand there, pray something." pg48-50
-Ronald Dunn tells the story of a trip he and his family took to a local fair. At the time he had three kids and he also had his brothers child, which made four. The tickets for the rides were ten cents a piece so they bought a roll of tickets and Ron would stand atthe entry way of each ride and hand the tickets to the kids as they got on. At one ride in particular, he took his post and began handing out tickets. He handed out the fourth ticket to his son, Stephan and he wacthed him limb on the ride. He then noticed a fifth child standing before him with hand held out waiting for a ticket. "Who is this kid?" he thought to himself. He got a little angery thinking that this boy was trying to get a free ticket that was meant for his children. He was just about to tell this kid that he would get no tickets when his son, Stephan called back, "It’s okay, dad, he’s my friend and I told him that you would give him a ticket." Long story short, Ron Dunn gave the boy a ticket, not because he wanted to or that the boy deserved it but because of his sons word. He realized, as a result of this that this boy was asking for a ticket "in Stephan’s name," and he gave this boy a ticket, "in Stephan’s name." This illustrated our praying in Jesus’ name for him.
3. With prayer comes great power.
C. Why don’t we pray like this anymore?
1. We don’t believe it.
2. We want to protect ourselves: Cover
our “backsides.”
a. Our attitude is, “Well, whatever happens is
God’s will. If God wants me to have this, He
will allow it.” “If it is God’s will, it will
happen.”
b. Problem: We get so concerned that we will
pray for something against God’s will that
it keeps us from really praying about anything
at all.
- Don’t say “no” before God has a chance to
say “yes”.
D. We need to believe in the power of prayer.
1. Illus.: Watchman Nee testimony. South China
island.
E. We need to give our leaders prayer support! (v.12)
1. Aaron and Hur reinforced Moses’ prayers
2. We must pray for our leaders.
3. You need to pray for me! Not a request.
III. To maintain a victorious life, you must recognize
that true victory comes from God. (Ex. 17:14-16)
A. “The Lord is my Banner,” Jehovah Nissi
B. We are in the practice of giving God glory while
taking the credit.
1. “I did this and that, to the glory of God (of
course.)”
C. This is the primary reason God answers our
prayers: so that He may be glorified in our lives.
1. “Why doesn’t God ever answer my prayers?”
2. How do your prayers glorify Him?
IV. Closing
A. How do we have “Victory,” in our lives?
1. Seek out God’s victory for you. Allow Him to
be your victor.
2. No matter how strong you think you are, there
is always going to be something that can take
you out.
3. Illus.: Oak tree vs. a vine. (Vine chokes the
oak.)
B. Jesus cut the vine of sin that is strangling us.
