1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,800 Hey there, this is Jen Wade, part of the core team here at Springs Church. We just want 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,760 to say thank you so much for joining us and listening to our podcast. We are praying that 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,120 it encourages you and it inspires you. And if you'd like to find out more about Springs 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:24,480 Church, please visit our website springschurch.co.uk. Here's today's message. 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:32,360 You may be wondering, Pete, what is this fancy cup? Was anybody wondering that on the table? 6 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:40,080 Thank you for asking Rachel. Rachel Price, not for long. This time next week, newlyweds. 7 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,400 So this cup is no ordinary cup. You can see that there are a myriad of different hairstyles 8 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:49,760 on there and I reckon I've had at least a quarter of those hairstyles. This cup was 9 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,880 bought for me by some students from year 11s that left my class about, I don't know, probably 10 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,200 like seven, eight years ago now. And they bought me this because I was quite famous 11 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:04,400 for changing my hair styles. I wasn't scared to have a new cut. And so they thought they'd 12 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,000 remember. And they knew I liked my cup of tea. And they also knew that my hot drink 13 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,320 didn't stay hot for very long because I got too excited teaching that by the time I came 14 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,840 to have a sip, it was cold. So they bought me a big cup in the hope that it might stay 15 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:23,920 warmer. It didn't. But this is my cup. But this cup soon became known as something else 16 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:30,720 behind my back. I did not know. Fast forward a few years later and I go for a haircut in 17 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,840 the barbers just down the road here. And I sit in the barber's chair. I've never been 18 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:43,040 to this barber's before. And this lad's given me a gornal skin fade. And as I sat down, 19 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:50,120 he actually said to me, he says, he says, are you doing Thor? I said, what? He said, 20 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,560 don't you remember me? I was like, I really don't. And I'm getting worried if we got like 21 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:59,080 a good history because he's got a razor on my beard later. So and he says, yeah, I'm 22 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,520 so and so. I was at Ormiston Forge Academy. You taught me. And more importantly, you taught 23 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:10,200 in the class next door the day that we were giving your mate, Mrs. I won't say her name, 24 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,680 real hassle next door. We were being horrible. Don't you remember? I was like, I don't know 25 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:21,440 what you're talking about. He says, yeah, you came in with Thor's hammer and empty this 26 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,520 very cup empty. And we were giving Miss such a hard time. You didn't say anything. You 27 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:34,160 just came in and you just went. You said, don't you remember how we all just went silent? 28 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:43,360 Everyone was like, did you not know that your nickname was Thor? I was like, no. And it 29 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,800 turns out that my nickname for my students behind my back was Thor because of Thor's 30 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:54,240 hammer that day in the RE department in Oldhill. Amazing. And I'll be honest with you, I wish 31 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,600 I'd known at the time because I would have milked it while I was teaching there. I would 32 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,400 have absolutely milked it. And yeah, so there you go, Thor. I don't know if you think that's 33 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:07,160 a befitting name for a pastor and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I quite liked 34 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,880 it. I mean, maybe it had nothing to do with Chris Hemsworth. Let's be honest. There's 35 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:17,920 no muscles going on here. Please Lord, please Lord help me. Help my wife. So Thor, there 36 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:22,840 you go. We all have names, correct? You all do. You all have a name. I'm wondering what 37 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,480 your nickname might have been as you're growing up and whether it's a nickname that you were 38 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:32,120 proud of. Anyone proud of the nickname they had? Anyone like that? Danny Ilkyu has always 39 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,040 been known as Silky Ilky for as long as I've known him. Got a few people proud of the nicknames 40 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,760 they had. And then there's other nicknames that we just like. We can't mention them in 41 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:45,400 church guys. We cannot. They're just too naughty and near the knuckle. The point about names 42 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,880 is this, that names represent us, don't they? And they go before us. So like, I don't know 43 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,160 if I want to know actually what my name represents in your heart and mind. I don't know what 44 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,720 you think of when you hear of the name Pete Wright. I don't know, but a name, anyone's 45 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:05,400 name, anyone's nickname, it conjures up ideas about that person, where they have been, what 46 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,920 they have done and what we can expect of them because of our previous history. Does that 47 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:15,880 make sense this afternoon? Okay. Names matter. They identify us out from the crowd, don't 48 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:21,080 they? See, here's the thing with God. This week we're starting a brand new preaching 49 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,480 series. It's going to go for a good few weeks. And as a preach team, we're really excited 50 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:30,240 about it. Keep a lookout for some newbies on the preach team this time around. And we're 51 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:36,240 excited because this, this preach team is called God Has A Name. God Has A Name. But 52 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:42,760 it's a little bit of a cheeky title because God in fact has many names. Did you know that 53 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,120 this afternoon? I was chatting with some people that were up in church and they did not realize 54 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:52,520 that there were many different names for, for God. That doesn't mean we serve many gods 55 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:58,600 of course, but we serve one holy God. We believe who is God the Father, God the Son and God 56 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,160 the Holy Spirit. But as we go through the scriptures, what we find is that different 57 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:12,080 people gave God different names to describe, exemplify their experience of God or God himself 58 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:18,280 gave himself a new name by which we could know him. Is that interesting or what? So 59 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,360 you might have been a Christian for a while or this might be your first time in church 60 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:27,000 or a church like this. We believe that there is one God, but one God happens to have many 61 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:32,120 names. Fascinating. Now I want to be really clear this afternoon because I'm about to 62 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:37,600 use a name for God that you may associate with a completely different set of religious 63 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:43,560 rules and regulations. Okay. I'm going to take back a name today that belongs to followers 64 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,840 of Jesus Christ who believe that he is the Son of God specifically. That he's divine 65 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:54,800 in nature and that he's the only way to heaven. The ancient name for God in the original language 66 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,160 that the Old Testament is written in is the name Jehovah. Have you ever heard that name 67 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:05,040 before? And so I want to be really like straight to the point. We're not Jehovah's Witnesses. 68 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,440 Okay. That's not what we are. It's a little bit like American football thinks it's football, 69 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:15,040 but it's not just because it's got a ball. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's a 70 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:20,480 ball, but it ain't the same game at all. Stop calling it football. Jehovah's Witness is 71 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:25,360 not Christianity. Okay. We're taking back the name Jehovah. It's the ancient name for 72 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:32,600 God. Is that okay? We're there. Okay. Now this name Jehovah is fascinating because if 73 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,040 you want to go a little bit Hebrew, you never pronounce your J's. You pronounce a J as a 74 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:41,400 Y. So it's actually Jehovah. And if you go back really far in ancient, it's not even 75 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:47,440 a spelt out word is the name Jehovah. It's actually four vowels that instead of pronouncing 76 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:53,000 a word, they pronounce the sound, which is more like breath, which is fascinating because 77 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:58,680 God is the breath of life. And His name is so holy that the ancient people of God thought 78 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:03,800 that you weren't, you couldn't even pronounce the name of God because it was life itself. 79 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:10,200 How do you pronounce life? Just breathe God in, breathe God out. But we came away with 80 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:17,480 this translation name Jehovah. Now today I'm going to talk to you of the first Jehovah 81 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,520 name of God. And the first Jehovah name of God is this. Can I have a drum roll please? 82 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:29,160 On your knees. There it is. And there it is. Jehovah Nissi. Jehovah Nissi. Turn to your 83 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:35,800 neighbour and say Jehovah Nissi. What's it all about mate? Jehovah Nissi. Jehovah Nissi. 84 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:41,800 Listen, the name Jehovah means this. It means the ever existing one who reveals himself. 85 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:47,320 That's what the name of God means. Jehovah means the one who is everlasting and reveals 86 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:52,440 himself. That's good isn't it? It's a good name for God. But Jehovah Nissi. We'll find 87 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:57,600 out what Nissi means in a short while. To find out we have to go to the one and only place 88 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:03,480 in the whole Bible where this phrase Jehovah Nissi is said, is used. We go all the way back 89 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:08,760 to a second book in the Bible called Exodus. You ever heard of Exodus? You might have heard 90 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,560 of a guy called Moses. If you've been around church for a while you definitely have. If 91 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,720 you're new to church you might have watched the Prince of Egypt by Disney. Anyone? Alright. 92 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:23,920 In Exodus chapter 17 we find a guy called Moses. Just a few chapters earlier God had 93 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:31,640 used this guy Moses so powerfully to set free more than half a million Hebrew Israelite 94 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:39,960 people out of slavery in Egypt. A few chapters earlier than Exodus 17 Moses is used by God 95 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:45,800 miraculously to rescue his people out of slavery. That's good news. It's a good story. You should 96 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:51,640 read it sometime. And then we get to chapter 17 and this is a few weeks later from the 97 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:58,880 Israelites being set free from slavery. And what we find in chapter 17 is Moses leading 98 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:08,720 at least 600,000 former slaves out of Egypt through a wilderness called the Sinai Peninsula 99 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:16,080 and towards the promised land that God had got for those people. Several weeks had passed 100 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:21,840 since the miraculous escape and Moses and 600,000 Israelites they come to a place called 101 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:29,160 Rephidim. Rephidim means this place of rest. I'm glad it's a hot day today because maybe 102 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:35,840 we can at least empathise a little with the deserty weather. Imagine walking for weeks 103 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:42,000 with 600,000 people if there's one thing you need it's a good rest. You come to Rephidim 104 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:48,640 the place of rest. It's been a monumental few weeks pushing on through the wilderness, 105 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:54,840 pushing into their freedom, pushing away from slavery, pushing their hearts, their souls, 106 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,960 their minds, their bodies, even their faith pushing it to the limit to take hold of the 107 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:07,960 freedom that God had for them. And as Israel makes camp there at Rephidim and tries to 108 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:15,080 settle for a little while, a tribe called the Amalekites set about them. They begin 109 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:20,400 to attack them. Now what you may not know about the Amalekites is this, that they had 110 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:27,600 held a hatred for people blessed by God for hundreds of years. They'd just been set free 111 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:33,480 from slavery in Egypt, come to a place of rest and just as you think life is getting 112 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:40,120 more secure, your security is robbed by the first people who can attack you, they do and 113 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:46,760 oh my gosh I thought we were free, I guess we're not free after all. Now here's the thing, 114 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:51,720 in a place called rest, a place in the journey that should have been peaceful came panic. 115 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:57,000 Have you ever identified with that situation? You come to a place in your life that should 116 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:04,280 be peaceful, should be restful, should be time to make hay but instead your peace is 117 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:11,000 robbed, your security is shattered. Here's the thing, Moses by this time is well into 118 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:17,160 his 80s. Is anyone in the room into their 80s this afternoon? Do you feel like it sometimes? 119 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:23,200 Yeah we've got someone here. Moses is in his 80s can you believe it? And even though Moses 120 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,800 has got a fighting spirit, his body is not going to allow him to fight very well for 121 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:35,280 very long against this tribe that want to cut in on the people who have been set free by God. 122 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:41,520 And so what Moses does is he gets his young prodigy, a guy called Joshua and he says Joshua 123 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,960 go pick some men who are young enough to go and fight for us and go and take them down 124 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:55,280 to the battlefield to meet the Amalekites in battle. And so Joshua picks a bunch of 125 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,680 people, a bunch of men of fighting age but you need to understand something church this 126 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:06,160 afternoon. These men were not fighters. Only a few weeks ago they were still slaves who 127 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:12,400 were in subservient manual labor to harsh slave owners. They were farmers and builders. 128 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:17,280 They were not soldiers. And so when Moses says to Joshua go pick some men and go and 129 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,560 fight they didn't have a clue how to fight. But when your freedom's at stake you better 130 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:26,320 learn how to fight pretty quickly, hello? And so the people of God go down into the 131 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:32,320 valley and they go and meet the Amalekites. But because Moses could not fight himself, 132 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:38,080 him and his two closest friends, a guy called Aaron and a guy called Her, they go up onto 133 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:45,320 a hillside and they can watch the battle as it unfolds. And something's really interesting. 134 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:52,000 Moses cannot lift a sword in anger but he can lift his hands in prayer. Do you hear 135 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,680 what I said? This man in his 80s and his two best mates Aaron and Her, they couldn't lift 136 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,200 a sword in anger or throw a spear in aggression but they could lift their hands in prayer 137 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,360 and in honor to the God who set them free. And so that's what they do. They go to the 138 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:11,880 top of a hill and Moses lifts up his hands. And this curious thing happens in this battle. 139 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:18,640 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning. But whenever he lowered his 140 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:25,800 hands, the Amalekites were winning. It's a curious thing in this battle that when his 141 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:32,080 hands are raised, the people of God are winning the day. And when his hands go down, the enemy 142 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:38,320 starts to take over in battle. But here's the thing church, his friends Aaron and Her, 143 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:43,240 they can see that Moses in his 80s, he's starting to lose strength and so they grab a rock and 144 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:48,200 they place it behind him and they lower down their friend so that in the midst of the battle, 145 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:56,720 this old man of faith has rest in the middle of the battle. And rest is good but it ain't 146 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,880 going to keep his arms up. And so Aaron comes and stands on one side and lifts one arm and 147 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,800 Her comes and stands on the other and lifts the other. And for as long as it takes, for 148 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:11,040 as long as it takes for the battle to be won, this man of faith is going to have his arms 149 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:19,360 held high until the enemy is defeated and freedom is tasted once more. Wow. The battle 150 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,800 is long. I imagine he had pins and needles and all the blood ran from his fingertips 151 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:29,560 back towards his vital organs but by the end of day, by the sunset, the battle had been 152 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:36,280 won against all odds. Doesn't that just sound like our God? That when we're in a battle 153 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:42,440 in life against all odds, mysteriously, everything around us can look like we're going to be 154 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:49,000 defeated but in a moment of prayer, the peace of God, the rest of God, the friends of God 155 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:57,680 come around us until the battle is won. Wow. And here we find this once only announced 156 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:03,680 once in scripture name for God, Jehovah-Nissi. Right at the end of the battle, I think it 157 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:09,640 will come up. Moses builds an altar. In other words, he builds like a little stage if you 158 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:18,880 like and he calls it Jehovah-Nissi which means the Lord is my banner. Wow. The Lord is my 159 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:24,520 banner. Following victory, Moses builds an altar. In other words, he doesn't just run 160 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:31,440 back off to home. He doesn't forget what God's just done. He pauses for a moment and he builds 161 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:37,760 a place to remember that God is good and he saved me that day. And if ever I find myself 162 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,920 in trouble again, I will look back to this altar, call praise and I will remember that 163 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:48,440 my God who is for me is not against me and he will rescue me again like he did that day 164 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:57,560 because the Lord is my Jehovah-Nissi. Someone asked me the question before I started this 165 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:03,240 message, do you stop to celebrate the victories that the Lord brings? Do you stop to celebrate 166 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:08,800 the victories the Lord brings? Because when you stop to celebrate any victory that God 167 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:14,000 brings you, no matter how small or how big, what you do in your memory, what you do in 168 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,840 your life, what you do in the history of your friends and family is you have a reference 169 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:25,320 point to go, I know right now is tough, but do we all remember when God did this? So take 170 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:32,480 a moment every time the Lord comes through for you and give him praise. Moses called 171 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:38,040 this place of praise by the name of God Jehovah-Nissi. In other words, the ever existing one who 172 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:45,040 reveals himself as my banner. Why the Lord is my banner? It's a real weird thing to say. 173 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:49,320 We have these banners just to say, hello, welcome to Springs Church. Hopefully you know 174 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,640 the church that's running the service because of the banners that you see before you. On 175 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:59,960 ancient battlefields, this is what would happen. Each army would have their own banner and 176 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:06,640 their banner could be a flag with a symbol on it. Banner could be a pole with a symbol 177 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,960 on it. Have you ever seen the film Gladiator anyone? And the Roman soldiers marching to 178 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:18,800 battle with a pole with an eagle on top. Ancient battlefields, ancient armies carried banners 179 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:24,000 and as long as that banner was held high, you knew that your side was still in the fight. 180 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:30,360 Do you hear me this afternoon? And so what you do is you make sure that that banner stays 181 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:34,960 high because as long as that banner is high, your side is still in the fight and while 182 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,920 you're still in the fight, there's still hope that there could be a win here. And if there 183 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,560 could be a win here, your courage is stirred up and you're willing to fight even harder 184 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:48,360 because that banner is not going down because as soon as it does, my hope is lost. But as 185 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:52,840 long as that banner is held high, there's still chance and we're still in the fight. 186 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:58,840 Is that good news this afternoon? So Moses that day, he did not take into battle a physical 187 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,840 flag. He did not take in a pole with him. He did in another story later on in Exodus. 188 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:09,240 He didn't take any physical. He just sent the man of God into battle with some lads 189 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,960 who didn't know how to fight. The banner in that battle was not a physical flag. It was 190 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:21,240 the presence of God Himself. And so Jesus, no I'll come to him later, and so God announces 191 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:28,720 Himself as Jehovah-Nissi. I am your banner. You may not see me but I am with you. I'm 192 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:39,800 in the fight with you. Moses called God Jehovah-Nissi. God, you're my confidence. God, you're my 193 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:49,080 hope. God, you are my courage. God, you are the strength of my heart on this battlefield 194 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:59,920 of life. God, you're my victory. Here's the legacy of that day. When the people of God 195 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,840 came out of slavery, the Amalekites were the very first people to ever attack Israel and 196 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:11,640 Israel would face a lot more battles. But here's the thing. God taught His people right at 197 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:18,880 the start of their newfound freedom that whenever you find yourself in a spot, I'm with you. 198 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:24,360 Christian, person walked into church for the first time, doesn't know anything about Jesus 199 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:33,880 or God. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God is with you forever and no one can take 200 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:39,680 that away from you. I don't know how long you've been walking planet Earth but you may 201 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:45,480 have noticed that our lives are punctuated by battles, aren't they? Punctuated by skirmishes. 202 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:51,880 I heard someone define life-wanters struggle. I thought that was pretty depressing but I 203 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:57,240 kind of understood where they're coming from because it is a fight to survive in all sorts 204 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:04,040 of ways in life. We have health battles, social battles, family battles, economic battles, 205 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,400 political battles. If there's one thing we need in the midst of our troubles and trials, 206 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:13,080 it's a banner of hope, strength and courage. Are you with me this afternoon? Has anyone 207 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:18,280 got a bit of breeze yet? Thank you Lord. And I don't know how long some of you have been 208 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,800 Christians but it's not as like you become a Christian and then suddenly the battles 209 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,560 disappear. The battles still present themselves but we're not fighting on our own anymore. 210 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:33,080 Have you noticed that? You see, the scriptures are really clear that when we put our faith 211 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,840 in Jesus and leave a kingdom called darkness and step into a kingdom called the light of 212 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:44,600 His love, the enemy of our souls prowls around. He hates the freedom we have like the Amalekites 213 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:50,280 hated the freedom the Israelites had and the enemy of our souls, the devil loves to make 214 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:55,880 a mess of things, loves to throw sin our way, loves to throw temptation our way, loves to 215 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:02,240 throw circumstances in order to bring us down. We enter into a different kind of battle when 216 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:09,920 we become people of faith. But when we follow Jesus into freedom, our souls find true rest. 217 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:16,160 Where was Moses' rest? Away from the battle or during? His rest was during the battle. 218 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,680 His friends bought him a rock and I want to encourage you today that Jesus Christ, the 219 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:25,280 rock foundation of our faith is the rest that you need for your soul and I need for mine. 220 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:30,520 I don't know if you're going through a battle today but can I encourage you to get around 221 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:35,400 people of faith like Erin and her who will hold your arms up when you have no strength 222 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:44,560 and will not give up with you, not give up on you until the battle is won. Big life group 223 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:49,200 this Wednesday, whole church get together. If you've never been to a life group, don't 224 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:54,320 worry, come to church Wednesday night, 7.30. We're going to talk more about the names of 225 00:21:54,320 --> 00:22:00,720 God. We're going to meet people who are going to help us in our faith. Is that good? Listen, 226 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:06,320 when once our freedom is won, we have to fight for it to keep it. 1 Peter chapter 5, 7, 11, 227 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:11,760 it says, do this now, cast all your anxiety on God because he cares for you but also be 228 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:17,120 alert and sober in your mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion 229 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:22,180 looking for someone to devour. You resist him, stand firm in the faith because you know 230 00:22:22,180 --> 00:22:27,240 that the family of believers, hello Springs Church, throughout the world is also undergoing 231 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:32,720 such sufferings and the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 232 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:38,440 after you've suffered for a little while, will himself restore you and make you, hello, 233 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:44,520 strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever, amen. And then the 234 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,240 message translation, the message paraphrase if you like, says like this, it says, hey 235 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:55,040 church, Springs Church, keep a cool head on this hot day. Stay alert, the devil is poised 236 00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:01,160 to pence and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. 237 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,920 You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians 238 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:10,120 all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. Springs Church, keep your hands 239 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:18,360 held high. So can I encourage you today, guard your heart by keeping Jesus front and center 240 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:23,600 of your life. Are you with me today church? On the battlefield of your heart, my banner 241 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:32,680 is Jesus. On the battlefield of my mind, hello, my banner is, on the battlefield of my eternity, 242 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:42,800 my banner, my hope, my courage, my, the banner's not down so I'm still in the fight, Jesus. 243 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:47,000 See amazingly, didn't he find rest during the battle and you can find rest in the battle 244 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:55,320 too. As a 17 year old, can I give you a personal story of experiencing Jehovah-Nissi? Is that 245 00:23:55,320 --> 00:24:01,800 okay? You see, in the book of Joel chapter two, the prophet prophesied that in the last 246 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:06,360 days, your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. And I was 247 00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:11,800 17 years old when one night I'd gone to bed and I hadn't fallen asleep, but I did fall 248 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,120 into what I could only describe as a vision. Now I know, you might be in church for the 249 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:21,800 first time today and it's about to get weird. And I know I wasn't asleep, but I also know 250 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:27,720 I wasn't awake. I could only describe it as I was in a different place. And instantly 251 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:33,760 I found myself in a shouting, roaring battle in the middle of the battlefield. And when 252 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:40,120 I shut my eyes, I can still see everything about it. And there was, there was aggression 253 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:45,520 and there was fighting and there was a clashing of swords. And at this point in my journey 254 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,040 with Jesus, I'd never been filled with the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues, spoken 255 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:54,760 in a language that God wants to gift us all with. And in the middle of this battle scene 256 00:24:54,760 --> 00:25:00,240 vision that I can't really describe completely to you, I heard a voice say, Pete, speak in 257 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:06,360 tongues. And out of nowhere in this vision, I started to speak in tongues. And as I started 258 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:12,320 to speak in this heavenly language, God did something. I heard what I can only assume 259 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:21,440 was some kind of angelic voice that just roared like thunder and just shouted, praise the Lord. 260 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:27,920 It was like this deafening battle cry. And when I heard this shout of praise the Lord, 261 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:34,680 I heard screams. And the screams were of the enemy that God was defeating and they started 262 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,760 to run. And the people of God started to look at each other and started to run after the 263 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,880 enemy and hunt down the enemy. And I came out of that vision just like that. And I knew 264 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,840 I wasn't dreaming and I knew I wasn't awake, but I knew what I'd seen. I can remember it 265 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:54,640 vividly to this day. Maybe I'd eaten some interesting cheese that night or maybe God 266 00:25:54,640 --> 00:26:01,480 met me that night. Fast forward a few years, I know he's Jehovah-Nissi. In the middle of 267 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:06,520 the battle, I was encouraged to lift the name of Jesus high in prayer. And then I heard 268 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:12,000 a praise the Lord and then I heard the sounds of the defeated enemy. There was another one 269 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:19,760 two weeks later, but that's not for now. A little later on, I'm 31 years old. No, 30 270 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:26,440 years old, 10 years ago this year. And we're about to start prayer meetings at the Memorial 271 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,520 Hall just up the road here because we got a sense that God wants to transform our community 272 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:35,360 by His love. And the night before we held the first prayer meeting in a string of prayer 273 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:40,080 meetings, I was driving back from my dad's house less than five minutes away and I was 274 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:45,680 so overcome with anxiety at the risk that it was to start a church. Because Lord, if 275 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:51,200 I do this, there's no going back. If this works, great. If it doesn't, I'm going to 276 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,800 feel so failed. And I remember being so anxious, Rachel and the kids were in the car with me. 277 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:01,080 And as I parked up outside my house, I was shaking so much that instead of pressing the 278 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:06,240 accelerator on my automatic car, the brake on my automatic car, I pressed the accelerator 279 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:12,400 and shoved so hard into my neighbor's car. The night before we started prayer meetings, 280 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,320 which were the precursor for this church, I was so anxious, I was shaking so much, I 281 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,840 couldn't drive my car effectively. We get out of the car and we'd really thumped our 282 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:27,080 neighbor's Jaguar, right? Get out of the car and I've got my torch on like on my phone 283 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:33,600 and there's not a mark on his car. And there's hardly a mark on mine. We should have both 284 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:41,440 been crunched, those cars. And I'm so scared. I got in the house and I phoned Pastor John 285 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:45,960 and I phoned another wonderful guy called Phil Harris. And they encouraged me and the 286 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:51,000 Lord that night. There was an Aaron and there was a her. Do you see what I'm saying? And 287 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,880 I can remember saying, John, are we doing the right thing? Because if we do this, there's 288 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:58,000 no going back. And they're like, yeah, of course this is the right thing. And they had 289 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:03,880 more confidence than I did. We held the prayer meeting and then we held one every week for 290 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:12,440 three months and then we started a church, Jehovah-Nissi. Sometimes we need to get shaken 291 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:19,160 to be aware of the fight to march forward into freedom. Amen. I want to tell you about 292 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:27,320 Jesus because our path to God, Jehovah-Nissi, is Jesus Christ. And I want to tell you tonight 293 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:33,080 that Jesus is our banner. He is our hope. He is our safety. He is our courage. He is 294 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:37,880 our Redeemer. You with me tonight? You see, just like banners were raised high, Jesus 295 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:44,640 was raised high on two occasions. And He can be raised high in an eternal third occasion. 296 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:49,080 The first occasion He was raised up, He was raised up on a cross made of wood. You may 297 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,560 have heard about this. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the perfect Lamb of God, was raised 298 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:59,760 up on a cross, nailed to it, and on Him all of the sin that you would ever commit and 299 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:05,400 all the sin that I would ever commit was laid upon Him and He died a death, a sacrifice, 300 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,840 which was a payment for my sin and your sin. He was raised up. My banner, Jesus, He died 301 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:17,480 for me. He died for you. Jesus, He says this, just as Moses lifted up a snake in the wilderness, 302 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,680 so the Son of Man must also be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal 303 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:26,320 life in Him. And then He says, come on now, for God so loved the world that He gave His 304 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,800 only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. It was 305 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:36,240 going to take Jesus being raised upon the cross to pay for my sin and your sin to win 306 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:41,280 our victory from the slavery of sin. And then He was, and then Jesus prophesied a little 307 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:49,680 later. He said, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. He 308 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:54,680 was raised upon a cross and He died the death that we should have died. But three days later, 309 00:29:54,680 --> 00:30:00,240 He rose up and was lifted high out of the earth. Are you seeing this tonight? And He 310 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:05,320 was raised to life for all time so that for any of us who ask forgiveness for our sin 311 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:10,960 because of what He did on the cross also accesses the life of Christ because He was raised high 312 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:15,600 from the grave. And He will never die again. And when you put your faith in Jesus, you 313 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,400 too, your body, you will one day be raised to life but your soul will only ever know 314 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:28,800 what it is to live forever. So what comfort can we take tonight from Jehovah, Nishe, Abba 315 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:37,760 na? Moses' prodigy, Joshua, had his own story and he says, God says this to him, Joshua, 316 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:45,760 have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged for 317 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:52,360 the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And let me let you into a secret. 318 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:57,600 When you ask Jesus into your life and He becomes your Lord and Saviour, any promise from God 319 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:04,400 to His people becomes a promise to you also. That's the truth of the Christian faith. Now 320 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,320 here's this, if you're facing a battle tonight, I don't know if you are, most of you probably 321 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:14,160 are in some way, don't be discouraged. The Lord your God will be with you wherever you 322 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:21,000 go. So what courage? The scripture tells us this, it says that if God is for us, who can 323 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:28,080 be against us? Nah, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ who 324 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:34,280 loved us more than conquerors. You ain't even got to fight. You're not the conqueror. Jesus 325 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:40,320 is and because you're His mate, you get to live in the freedom that He's won. Amazing. 326 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:46,220 What else? You dear children are from God and you've overcome them. That's the enemies 327 00:31:46,220 --> 00:31:54,720 of God because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Let's just 328 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,680 let those scriptures sink in for a sec. Have I not commanded you, Springs Church, be strong 329 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:02,920 and courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with 330 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:08,120 you wherever you go. If God is for us then who can be against us? In all these things 331 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,640 we're more than conquerors through Him who loved us and you dear children are from God 332 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:16,240 and you've overcome the devil because the one who is greater, the one who is in you, 333 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:22,100 who's that God Himself, Jesus by the presence of His Holy Spirit, God in you is greater 334 00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:31,160 than any enemy in the world. Amen. Amen. Amen. Our victory is already won. Sin is defeated. 335 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:37,120 It don't hold us back from God anymore. When we hold Jesus high in our lives, we're still 336 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:42,120 in the fight. Hello. When we hold Jesus high in our lives and He is our banner, we still 337 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:47,160 have courage, we still have hope, we still have His grace. So what does God wants to 338 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:55,120 know tonight? Band, why don't you come up and we'll worship God with joy and confidence. 339 00:32:55,120 --> 00:33:02,400 God is your banner church. Lift up your head. Maybe right now you might need to close your 340 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:14,640 eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe right now you just need to remember that God is with 341 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:23,040 you and that you can be filled with hope, courage and be renewed with confidence that 342 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:36,960 you're not alone. Can I ask you a question, church tonight? Can I ask you a question? 343 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:43,480 Have you asked Jesus to stand with you? Did you know that Jesus was already standing on 344 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:50,760 the battlefield called your life? He's calling to you and He says, hey, follow me. Follow 345 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:57,720 me. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to hold your head down in shame. You 346 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:05,800 don't have to be discouraged. I'm here. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever asked 347 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:16,160 the God of heaven to save you in this life and for your eternal life? You may not know 348 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:22,880 this today, church, but you can be made right with God today. Did you know that? You can 349 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:33,200 be made right with God when you make His son Jesus your banner, your confidence, your hope. 350 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:40,680 Just before we started the service, Gary Basley over there, he reminded me of a scripture 351 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:50,440 that says, God, your banner over me is love. There's forgiveness for us tonight. There's 352 00:34:50,440 --> 00:35:01,640 grace for us tonight because God is our banner. No enemy can take the banner of our God down. 353 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:11,720 And while His banner is high in our life, we're still in the fight. Amen? Amen. We're 354 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:17,920 going to sing and respond in song in a sec. But in the silence of your heart, in the middle 355 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:26,240 of the battle you're in, can I ask you to just close your eyes? And in your heart of 356 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:36,240 hearts, just call on the name of Jesus. Turn your attention towards His presence. Enjoy 357 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:45,080 the strength that comes knowing that He is with you. Rest in the battle. Friends in the 358 00:35:45,080 --> 00:36:00,160 battle. Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord is my banner. 359 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:29,640 Thank you, Lord. You are not alone. Be strong and courageous. 360 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:38,720 I, the Lord, go ahead of you. I, the Lord, fight with you, fight for you, fight beside 361 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:55,360 you. You are so loved. So loved. So loved. 362 00:36:55,360 --> 00:37:09,440 Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. 363 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:25,800 Break every stronghold and shine through your fear. 364 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:54,560 I'm just going to ask Stella if you could just put that prayer on the screen for us. 365 00:37:54,560 --> 00:38:02,360 A prayer of hope, a prayer of courage, a prayer of thanks. 366 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:12,400 If you've been a Christian for a while, this prayer will serve to anchor and reconfirm 367 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:16,600 just how good it is to know God. If you're in church tonight and you just feel like, 368 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:21,200 you know, I need to get my life right with God, I need to have God right at the centre, 369 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:28,800 I need a captain of this ship called my life. This prayer will also be a step towards, a 370 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,480 step towards Jesus. And I want to encourage you tonight that if 371 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:43,840 you seek Him in humility and ask that He would forgive you, He will so fast. 372 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:53,080 And He will come to be with you and remain with you. 373 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:58,900 Father God, I've heard today that you are Jehovah-Nissi, my banner. 374 00:38:58,900 --> 00:39:07,320 Only you can give me hope that cannot fail. Only you can provide my life with sure victory. 375 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:15,360 Every battle of every type, in every season, I can look to you. I remember today that before 376 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:22,200 I ever knew you, you knew me. Long ago, you had already provided for my 377 00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:27,440 victory and freedom. Jesus, thank you that as I put my faith in 378 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:36,320 you, the enemy's grip on me is no more. Jesus, I put my faith in you, my banner. 379 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:41,960 I submit to your love and truth. I ask you to be with me and by your Spirit 380 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:46,780 be within me. Thank you for new confidence, strength and 381 00:39:46,780 --> 00:39:53,340 hope in the light of your presence. Holy Spirit of God, I want to live in step 382 00:39:53,340 --> 00:40:00,280 with you, being transformed for your glory, walking in the grace of God. 383 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:06,560 May your power work in me and through me. Amen. 384 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:11,040 If God is your Jehovah-Nissi tonight, why don't we stand and if you're willing to do so like 385 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:15,720 Moses did that day, why don't you lift your hands in honor of His presence in your life 386 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:20,520 and Him at your forefront. And let's sing songs that proclaim who He is 387 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:26,040 and let it rest so heavily on our hearts that we go out of this place changed by His love 388 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:35,400 and His provision and His confidence and His strength. 389 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:39,000 Thanks again for listening. To hear more of our messages, make sure to subscribe to our 390 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,340 YouTube channel and our podcast channel for past preachers. 391 00:40:42,340 --> 00:40:44,960 If you feel like you got something out of today's message, why not share it with your 392 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:49,520 friends and spread the good news of Jesus. We are praying for you. We love you. So please, 393 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:56,400 if you need anything at all, check out springschurch.co.uk. God bless.