WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.879 morning, as Phil said, we are beginning a new 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:04.940 series called Called Together and Sent Out. Emphasis 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:09.080 on called and sent. It's my hope and my prayer 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.960 that through this series we will better understand 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:16.019 what it means to be called by God, what it means 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.460 to be shaped by Him, to be strengthened by our 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:22.039 community and sent into the world with boldness 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:27.260 and, emphasis on this word, grace. Because as 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.559 we've discussed the last few weeks, we've all 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:33.420 been called by God into his family. Regardless 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.759 of where we come from, what we've done, where 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:39.060 we've been, we're called to be a part of God's 00:00:39.060 --> 00:00:42.939 family. And that call comes with a natural response. 00:00:42.979 --> 00:00:46.299 And that natural response should be to live in 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:51.500 service and worship to God. So we now have to 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:54.840 allow God to shape us, equip us, strengthen us, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.109 and send us. And we begin by looking in the Old 00:00:59.109 --> 00:01:01.850 Testament, what we just read in Exodus chapter 00:01:01.850 --> 00:01:04.730 17, verses 8 through 13. So we're going to read 00:01:04.730 --> 00:01:07.590 it again, and as I try to do most every Sunday, 00:01:07.629 --> 00:01:09.670 we're going to pray about it, okay? So let's 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:13.709 read Exodus 17, 8 through 13. Then Amalek came 00:01:13.709 --> 00:01:16.709 and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:19.469 said to Joshua, choose for us men and go out 00:01:19.469 --> 00:01:22.420 and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:25.379 on the top of the hill with the staff of God 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:30.540 in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses told him, 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.299 and he fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:36.599 and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:40.299 Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And 00:01:40.299 --> 00:01:43.400 whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:47.000 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.200 and put it under him, and he sat on it. While 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:53.939 Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:57.640 and the other on the other side. So his hands 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.500 were steady until the going down of the sun. 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.939 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:08.330 with the sword. Let's pray really quick. Father 00:02:08.330 --> 00:02:10.629 God, we thank you for this morning, this beautiful 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.710 day that we get to be together, to sing songs 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:17.430 of praise, to pray to you, to ask you, to invite 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:21.050 you to fight in this fight of life with us, to 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:24.669 beg you to walk alongside us, to ask you to lead 00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:27.810 us. And God, I pray this morning as we begin 00:02:27.810 --> 00:02:30.830 this series, looking at the story where Moses 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:34.849 needed people. Not just people, but people that 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:37.469 he was close with. People that would see his 00:02:37.469 --> 00:02:41.650 need and choose to offer him a helping hand. 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:45.150 God, I pray that we see this story and that we 00:02:45.150 --> 00:02:49.090 read in Scripture exactly what you need us to 00:02:49.090 --> 00:02:52.590 see. That our hearts hear what it is that we 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:55.689 need to hear. And God, if there's anything standing 00:02:55.689 --> 00:02:59.469 in our way of growing closer to you, that's something 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:03.039 that we hear this morning. would help us to remove 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:06.039 that obstacle. God, I pray for everyone in this 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:09.520 room, including myself, that something said will 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.860 change our lives. God, I pray that you speak 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.379 in this time through your word and through me. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.060 And I pray that we would all be receptive of 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:20.680 what it is that you need us to hear. God, we 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:22.560 love you. We praise you. It's in Jesus' name 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:26.000 we pray. Amen. So I want to give you a little 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:30.340 bit of context in this story. So what you see 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:33.400 in that first verse is that Amalek came and they 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:35.379 fought with Israel. So Israel didn't pick this 00:03:35.379 --> 00:03:38.800 fight. In fact, what happened was the people 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:43.520 of Amalek, they surprise attacked the Israelites. 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:47.120 According to Deuteronomy 25, they actually attacked 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.419 them from the rear, which is the equivalent of 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:54.960 what we would call today a low blow. The Israelites 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.520 would have been, well, first of all, you attack 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.979 somebody from behind, but this is right after 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:03.159 they escaped from Egypt. So they're probably 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:07.360 a little bit tired, maybe hungry, maybe scared, 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.240 anxious, on edge. You can think of all of the 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:13.939 things that they may be feeling after just having 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:20.240 escaped from Egypt. But also, in the rear, historically 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.339 speaking, you would have placed your women. your 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:28.079 children, your disabled, basically your vulnerable 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:30.459 would have been in the back. So when the Amalekites 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:33.579 attack Israel from the rear, they're attacking 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:38.220 them at their weakest spot. So you've got a surprise 00:04:38.220 --> 00:04:44.379 attack against your most vulnerable. So Moses 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:48.930 is justified in this. And his response is that 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:51.629 we're going to send our own people to fight back. 00:04:51.769 --> 00:04:56.029 And so he responds by sending Joshua with some 00:04:56.029 --> 00:05:01.029 men to go and fight on behalf of Israel. He then 00:05:01.029 --> 00:05:04.529 takes his brother Aaron, and who many believe 00:05:04.529 --> 00:05:07.389 to be his brother -in -law, her, up on a hill 00:05:07.389 --> 00:05:11.189 to get good seats for the fight. I'm glad y 'all 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:12.589 laughed at that because I wasn't sure if you'd 00:05:12.589 --> 00:05:16.339 get it. No. Moses goes up on the mountain with 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:19.100 his right -hand men. There's another joke, I'm 00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:23.259 done, I promise. So he goes with his guys, his 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:28.300 close brothers, and he raises his hand over Israel. 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:32.639 And so right now I'm going to call a volunteer, 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.360 and I've got Cole. He's already been prepped 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:37.139 on what he's got to do. So Cole, come on up here, 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:41.550 brother. Cole is going to... be our illustration 00:05:41.550 --> 00:05:44.649 for the morning. So Cole, if you will, grab these 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:48.449 stacks of paper right here and join me up here 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:51.910 on the stage, wherever you'd like to stand, up 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:53.990 on the hill, if you will. All right. So Cole 00:05:53.990 --> 00:05:56.990 is going to hold these stacks of paper out right. 00:05:57.110 --> 00:05:58.430 Oh, he wants to give you all a side profile. 00:05:58.610 --> 00:06:00.610 All right. I love it. Okay. So he's going to 00:06:00.610 --> 00:06:02.889 keep the, however you want to do it. So he's 00:06:02.889 --> 00:06:05.959 going to keep these. Stacks of this, well, there's 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:08.540 two pieces or reams of paper. He's going to keep 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:13.860 this held out front. So imagine Moses here holding 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:18.100 his staff out. Now that's significant because 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:22.259 many scholars believe that Moses raising his 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:26.139 hand with this staff of God was a posture of 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:30.899 prayer. So Moses is possibly praying over Israel. 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:34.699 Or if nothing else, he's inviting God to take 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:40.079 over in this battle. But Moses is human. And 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:43.639 he gets tired like the rest of us. So his hands 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:48.019 may start to lower. But when his hands lower, 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:51.959 Israel starts to lose. When it stays raised, 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:54.699 Israel prevails. And so like the good friends 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:59.480 that they are, Aaron. And her support Moses. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.120 And they support his hands so that he can continue 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.720 keeping them raised. So that Israel can continue 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:10.639 to prevail. Whether he's praying or not, Moses 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.579 is letting God work in this battle. And his friends 00:07:14.579 --> 00:07:19.399 help him invite God to keep bringing victory. 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:21.839 So now, Cole, who are you going to choose to 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.480 come help support you? Your closest supporters. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:28.120 Also people with a little bit of strength. He's 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:33.279 calling somebody. Who's he calling? Here's one. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.060 All right, we've got one friend. We need one 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:42.379 more. Who are you going to bring? Who's he bringing? 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:49.639 Chad, all right. Okay. Not Moses. So Cole, tell 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:54.180 us who you've chosen. Wyatt and Chad. All right, 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:59.939 so why did you choose Wyatt and Chad? You thought 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:02.459 of them quick. Okay, so he has no reason he thought 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:05.720 of them. Maybe that's why Moses chose Aaron and 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.339 her. But I'm going to go out on a limb because 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.759 I've watched you guys. You and Wyatt are pretty 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:13.079 good friends, right? And so you would say you 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.399 trust Wyatt. And Chad is one of your shepherds, 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:17.959 and you've probably known him most of your life, 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:20.860 right? And so you pick two people, yeah, because 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:22.779 they were right there, but there were other people 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:25.100 that were right there. There's something special 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.139 that your brain said, I'm going to choose Wyatt 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:29.779 and Chad. Can we give it up for Wyatt, Chad, 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:36.139 and Moses here? Thank you, guys. See, in this 00:08:36.139 --> 00:08:38.700 very first battle ever for the Israelites, their 00:08:38.700 --> 00:08:42.399 first ever war, they learned quickly how much 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:46.620 they needed God and how much they needed each 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:49.830 other. How much they needed the people closest 00:08:49.830 --> 00:08:54.690 to them. Talk about an object lesson. We see 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:57.230 a similar story in the New Testament in Acts 00:08:57.230 --> 00:09:03.450 4, verses 23 -31. When they were released, they 00:09:03.450 --> 00:09:05.330 went to their friends and they reported what 00:09:05.330 --> 00:09:08.049 the chief priests and the elders had said to 00:09:08.049 --> 00:09:11.129 them. And when they heard it, they lifted their 00:09:11.129 --> 00:09:14.289 voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord 00:09:14.289 --> 00:09:16.929 who made the heaven and the earth and the sea 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:20.950 and everything in them, who through the mouth 00:09:20.950 --> 00:09:23.350 of our father David, your servant, said by the 00:09:23.350 --> 00:09:25.990 Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the 00:09:25.990 --> 00:09:28.870 peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth 00:09:28.870 --> 00:09:31.750 set themselves and the rulers were gathered together 00:09:31.750 --> 00:09:35.460 against the Lord and against his anointed. For 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:37.440 truly in this city there were gathered together 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.379 against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:43.379 both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:46.720 Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:48.980 Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:52.320 place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.940 and grant to Your servants to continue to speak 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:59.320 Your Word with all boldness while You stretch 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:03.620 out Your hand to heal. And signs and wonders 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:06.480 are performed through the name of your holy servant 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:10.080 Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.220 which they were gathered together was shaken. 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:15.299 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:19.419 and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 00:10:20.220 --> 00:10:23.919 To give you some back story here, in verses 1 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:28.240 -22, Peter and John had just been arrested for 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.049 proclaiming the word of God. Then they stand 00:10:32.049 --> 00:10:37.269 trial before the Sanhedrin. And then they're 00:10:37.269 --> 00:10:41.110 released. But they're not released without threat. 00:10:42.190 --> 00:10:45.429 Basically, they're told, chill out on the proclaiming 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:48.649 Jesus stuff. We don't want people hearing that 00:10:48.649 --> 00:10:51.330 message. We don't want people thinking some other 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:54.889 scriptural foundation. We don't want any other 00:10:54.889 --> 00:10:57.769 religion trying to take place over what we've 00:10:57.769 --> 00:11:00.460 got going on. So they're threatened. with some 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:04.519 serious punishment. And so they leave there. 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:07.360 They return to their friends not to complain, 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:11.179 not to talk about how awful this is, not to say 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:14.879 we're scared, not to say we need to pray that 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.500 God will take action upon them. What they go 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:23.240 and do is they pray for boldness to keep proclaiming 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.360 the Word of God. They pray for boldness and for 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.700 God to keep healing people, for God to keep changing 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:35.259 people's lives. for power, and for God to work 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:39.940 through them. They don't say, God, strike down 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:43.799 our oppressors. They don't say, God, make us 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:47.820 above them. They don't ask for this might. They 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:51.159 don't even ask for power over these people. They 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:57.139 ask for power to proclaim the Gospel. Once again, 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:01.789 we have this theme. of a hard battle in front 00:12:01.789 --> 00:12:06.289 of God's people, of something standing in their 00:12:06.289 --> 00:12:11.309 way. And the response of God's people is not 00:12:11.309 --> 00:12:14.690 to run away from it. It's not even to complain 00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:18.990 about it. It's to face it head on and invite 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:23.700 God in to provide the victory. And see, this 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:25.519 time it's not a physical victory that they're 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.419 asking for. It's not a war that they're asking 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:32.500 that God give them victory in. What they're praying 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.960 for is for God to be glorified through them. 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.399 For God to be glorified through their struggle. 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:47.740 For God to take action in this fight. And that's 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:49.759 the point of this series. We are called to give 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.980 glory to God before men so that they may too 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:58.059 glorify Him. That's our call. Our call is to 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:01.299 glorify God, to do things, to say things, to 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:04.279 be a people that when the world sees it, they 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:06.919 say, I want to know something about that God. 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:10.100 I want to receive that transformation. I too 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:16.590 want my life to be changed by this gospel. We're 00:13:16.590 --> 00:13:20.129 called to do that regardless of the circumstances. 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:25.250 And maybe you know this, that the circumstances 00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:29.710 aren't always ideal. In fact, they usually aren't. 00:13:31.309 --> 00:13:34.629 So the questions we have to ask ourselves are, 00:13:34.710 --> 00:13:37.149 what do we do when the battle before us is too 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:40.370 big for us to handle on our own? What do we do 00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:43.230 when the circumstances aren't ideal? Who do we 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:46.799 face these challenges with? Who holds up our 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.840 hands when they grow weary? And how do we fight? 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:52.259 I've got a few answers that I want to offer to 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:55.659 you. First is the who. Second is the why. And 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:59.860 third is the how. So the who. Just like Moses 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:02.740 had Aaron, her, and Joshua, and the Israelite 00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:06.299 army. Or just like Peter and John had their friends 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:08.080 who were likely the church and the apostles. 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:11.840 Just like Cole had Wyatt and Chad. And both groups, 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:15.929 all groups, had God. We too need a community 00:14:15.929 --> 00:14:22.129 of faithful servants and God. We most importantly 00:14:22.129 --> 00:14:27.789 need God. That's the key to all this. But unfortunately, 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:31.870 Satan likes to tell us this lie. And the lie 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:35.809 is that you can do this on your own. You can 00:14:35.809 --> 00:14:38.490 fight the battle on your own. You can hold up... 00:14:38.649 --> 00:14:40.509 What it is that you need to hold up on your own. 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:42.750 And you can make it through life by yourself. 00:14:43.049 --> 00:14:45.490 You don't need community. You don't need the 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:50.789 church. You don't need supporters. He lies. From 00:14:50.789 --> 00:14:52.870 the beginning, he's been lying. And from the 00:14:52.870 --> 00:14:55.389 beginning, we've seen that we need community. 00:14:55.549 --> 00:14:58.409 God makes Adam. He looks at Adam and says, oh 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:00.610 my goodness, this ain't going to work. He needs 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:03.320 a woman in his life. And men, you know that's 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.820 true, right? That we need, whether it's your 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:08.100 mama, your grandmama, your aunt, your wife, or 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:11.000 your sister, you need a woman in your life to 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:12.940 help you. And so God looks at Adam. He says he 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:16.399 can't do this alone. Or we read this wisdom literature 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:19.980 in Ecclesiastes that says two are better than 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.759 one because they have a good reward for their 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.639 toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:30.940 fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls. 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:34.840 and has not another to lift him up. Again, if 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.220 two lie together, they keep warm. But how can 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.720 one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.240 against one who is alone, two will withstand 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:49.559 him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.419 Maybe you've been by yourself in some of your 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:59.100 darkest times. Or maybe your biggest battles 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:02.190 that you've had to face You've tried to face 00:16:02.190 --> 00:16:05.149 them on your own. And I don't know about you, 00:16:05.230 --> 00:16:07.409 but I've never been successful in that effort. 00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:12.490 Every time I try to do things by myself, I fail. 00:16:13.809 --> 00:16:17.590 But when I lean on community, I get a little 00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:21.470 bit better. When I lean on community and God, 00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:25.210 I start to see victory. Now, it doesn't always 00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:28.429 look how I want it to, but I can see where... 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:34.240 it's a lot better than what I had. We even see 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.840 the way that Christ sent the disciples in groups, 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:42.500 and ultimately he established the church. All 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:45.580 throughout the narrative of Scripture, we see 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:51.360 the need for community, for togetherness. Satan 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.580 wants you to believe the lie that you can handle 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:57.750 things on your own. He wants you to believe the 00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:02.330 lie that you're strong by yourself. There's this 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:05.349 passage in Scripture that talks about Satan going 00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:07.609 around like a roaring lion. Maybe you've heard 00:17:07.609 --> 00:17:10.589 that before. Do any of you know how lions hunt? 00:17:11.809 --> 00:17:15.269 So when a lion targets this group of, we'll say 00:17:15.269 --> 00:17:18.970 gazelles, the lion will look at them and he'll 00:17:18.970 --> 00:17:21.869 pick out maybe the weakest one or the smallest 00:17:21.869 --> 00:17:25.150 one or the slowest one. Because what he knows, 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:28.779 is that whenever he starts running to attack, 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:33.000 they're all going to run too, right? But he also 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.259 knows if he can pick just one out, he gets dinner. 00:17:37.349 --> 00:17:40.910 And Satan knows that if he can pick you off, 00:17:41.170 --> 00:17:43.869 if he can get you by yourself, if he can get 00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:46.190 you alone, if he can get you doubting your community, 00:17:46.349 --> 00:17:49.009 if he can get you believing that you can handle 00:17:49.009 --> 00:17:51.329 it on your own, or you're faster by yourself, 00:17:51.569 --> 00:17:54.450 or you're stronger when you get to do things 00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:58.170 your way, if he can convince you of that, he 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:04.130 gets to win. He needs you alone to devour you. 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:10.920 Moses was by himself up on that hill. And his 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:14.859 arms did grow weary and they fell. Would the 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:21.380 Israelites have had victory? No. What happens 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:24.160 if Peter and John don't go back to their friends 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:28.140 and say, we need to pray for boldness. We need 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:31.279 to pray for God to work through us. Does the 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:35.380 gospel ever advance? What happens when you try 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:40.180 to fulfill your calling by yourself and things 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:45.400 get hard? And maybe anxiety sets in or depression 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.940 sets in or you face these obstacles and life 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:52.759 gets difficult. Do you ever fulfill your calling? 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:59.279 And that's the why behind the need for community 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.960 with people. If we ever feel like we can fully 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.440 honor God and live abundant lives on our own, 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:12.039 we leave ourselves subject to destruction. And 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:16.200 now we talk about how we win the battle. Because 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:19.180 the truth is, some of these battles are just 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:21.990 too big for our communities. of people to win. 00:19:22.190 --> 00:19:25.990 If I come to you and I say, hey, I love y 'all, 00:19:26.049 --> 00:19:28.789 but the city of Blairsville told me I'm not allowed 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:31.690 to talk about Jesus anymore. And we just all 00:19:31.690 --> 00:19:34.609 decide, well, we're going to go up to the town 00:19:34.609 --> 00:19:38.069 hall and we're going to raise a fuss. Maybe they'll 00:19:38.069 --> 00:19:43.109 listen. Maybe they won't. But if we go raise 00:19:43.109 --> 00:19:47.750 a fuss and... We pray that God will give us the 00:19:47.750 --> 00:19:50.470 boldness to not just raise a fuss, but to tell 00:19:50.470 --> 00:19:52.990 people about Jesus. And we start changing this 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:55.690 community and people's lives start to be transformed 00:19:55.690 --> 00:19:58.170 and good things start to happen because people 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:01.130 are coming to know Christ. Maybe the government 00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:04.150 will look at it and say, hey, we kind of like 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:07.769 this Jesus thing. In fact. What we see in history 00:20:07.769 --> 00:20:11.029 in the first century is the Christians weren't 00:20:11.029 --> 00:20:13.890 just complaining about the Roman government oppressing 00:20:13.890 --> 00:20:16.250 them. They weren't just complaining about the 00:20:16.250 --> 00:20:18.430 Jewish government oppressing them. What they 00:20:18.430 --> 00:20:19.829 were doing was they were just telling people 00:20:19.829 --> 00:20:22.049 about Jesus. And they were changing people's 00:20:22.049 --> 00:20:25.589 lives. And God was transforming people. And the 00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:28.349 Roman government saw something happening. And 00:20:28.349 --> 00:20:33.150 they said, you know, maybe there's something 00:20:33.150 --> 00:20:39.369 to this Jesus thing. Imagine if Christians would 00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:42.569 invite God into this battle and say, God, we 00:20:42.569 --> 00:20:44.710 see the things going on in our country. We see 00:20:44.710 --> 00:20:46.730 the things going on in our world. And what we 00:20:46.730 --> 00:20:49.430 want to do is not complain about them. We don't 00:20:49.430 --> 00:20:51.630 want to try to take it by force. We don't want 00:20:51.630 --> 00:20:55.190 to make it happen. We want you to transform people. 00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:58.210 And if people are transformed, our country, our 00:20:58.210 --> 00:21:04.269 world will be too. Imagine if we responded to 00:21:04.269 --> 00:21:08.119 difficulties. By relying on the power of community 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:14.440 and even more on the power of God. We need that. 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:19.160 Moses doesn't go into battle with Joshua to handle 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:23.440 things via combat. He sends Joshua with an army 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.380 to do that part. But he also goes up on the hill. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.059 Whether again, whether his holding up the hand 00:21:32.059 --> 00:21:34.980 was a posture of prayer or if it was just a symbol 00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:38.799 to say, God, work here. What Moses did was go 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:42.980 up on that hill to utilize God's power and God's 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:46.339 might in this fight. Peter and John don't go 00:21:46.339 --> 00:21:48.799 tell everybody at church what awful persecution 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:51.420 they face so that the church can pick up their 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:54.160 pitchforks and torches and storm the Sanhedrin. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.740 They go to receive the support and the prayers 00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:59.099 of the church and that's what they get. And in 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:01.380 both instances and all throughout Scripture, 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:05.839 God responds accordingly because it is only by 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.619 the strength of God that we can have victory. 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:15.819 It wasn't Moses' hand. that won the battle for 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:19.099 the Israelites. It wasn't the words of Peter 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:22.079 and John and their friends that made the gathering 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:25.599 place shake and the Holy Spirit move and fill 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:29.460 them. It was God showing, putting on full display 00:22:29.460 --> 00:22:34.299 for all to see His power and His might. We win 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:37.579 the battles necessary to bring God's people home 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:40.299 and to bring His message to the world through 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:43.000 the support and the prayers of our community, 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:46.500 which is the church, and the power and the might 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:50.259 of our Savior, who is God. We cannot do it alone 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:53.539 because if we try to, we will grow weary and 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:58.140 our arms will lower and we will lose the battle. 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:03.829 We'll face persecution. We'll face... Threats 00:23:03.829 --> 00:23:07.250 that threaten to slow down the advancing of God's 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:11.369 kingdom. We'll have moments where the evil one 00:23:11.369 --> 00:23:14.329 tries to get us on our own. Where he tries to 00:23:14.329 --> 00:23:18.089 destroy us. And when we do, we have to remember 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:23.190 who's on our team. Who's in the fight with us. 00:23:23.329 --> 00:23:27.150 And we have to remember how we receive victory. 00:23:28.210 --> 00:23:31.269 So as we wrap up this morning, I want to give 00:23:31.269 --> 00:23:35.089 you some points of application. The first one 00:23:35.089 --> 00:23:38.950 is to lean on your people. Lean on your Aaron 00:23:38.950 --> 00:23:41.410 and your Hur. Or lean on your friends. Lean on 00:23:41.410 --> 00:23:44.529 your brothers and sisters here in this body. 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:47.809 Ask yourself the question, who's holding your 00:23:47.809 --> 00:23:52.269 arms up right now when they grow weary? Who are 00:23:52.269 --> 00:23:54.450 you letting in? Who are you inviting into the 00:23:54.450 --> 00:23:57.430 battle with you? Who are you praying with? Who 00:23:57.430 --> 00:24:00.809 are you confessing to? Who are you standing alongside? 00:24:03.439 --> 00:24:07.160 God designed us for community. And over the next 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.240 20 years or however long I'm here, you're going 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:12.160 to hear me say God designed us for community 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:15.819 over and over and over and over again because 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:20.880 that's true. We're designed to be with people. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.920 And so some practical ways that we can try to 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:29.359 not fight alone. Get involved in a small group. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.670 Join a prayer group. Be a part of a men's or 00:24:33.670 --> 00:24:36.710 a women's ministry or a youth ministry. Be surrounded 00:24:36.710 --> 00:24:39.890 by people. I've got to tell you, on some of my 00:24:39.890 --> 00:24:43.410 toughest weeks, the thing that holds my arms 00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:47.230 up is the Wednesday night gathering. Just being 00:24:47.230 --> 00:24:49.230 together with people in the middle of the week 00:24:49.230 --> 00:24:52.130 because the truth is, is Sunday is not enough 00:24:52.130 --> 00:24:55.950 sometimes. It's kind of like my youth minister, 00:24:56.130 --> 00:24:57.529 and you'll hear me talk about him a lot because 00:24:57.529 --> 00:24:59.630 he's such an interesting guy, but also just a 00:24:59.630 --> 00:25:03.069 great man. He'd show up on Wednesday nights to 00:25:03.069 --> 00:25:04.890 church and it'd be 7 o 'clock at night and he's 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:08.529 still drinking coffee. And I'm not decaf. Like 00:25:08.529 --> 00:25:10.710 he's still drinking just straight up coffee. 00:25:11.349 --> 00:25:13.930 And I make coffee in the morning and that's it. 00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:16.789 Like two cups in the morning and I'm good. But 00:25:16.789 --> 00:25:20.150 for some people, and maybe some of you are this 00:25:20.150 --> 00:25:23.269 way, you need it all throughout the day. Some 00:25:23.269 --> 00:25:26.170 people are, they need a cup in the morning and 00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:27.890 then a cup at the middle of the day and they're 00:25:27.890 --> 00:25:29.430 good for the rest of it. And that's kind of how 00:25:29.430 --> 00:25:33.130 I am with church. Like I need my cup on Sunday 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:35.349 morning and then I need it again on Wednesday 00:25:35.349 --> 00:25:37.789 because by Wednesday I'm just barely making it 00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:40.289 through and then I'm crawling in on Sunday morning. 00:25:40.410 --> 00:25:45.170 We need to be with people that love Jesus, that 00:25:45.170 --> 00:25:47.329 are fighting the same fight as us, that are in 00:25:47.329 --> 00:25:50.630 the same race as us to make it to the finish 00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:57.720 line. Be together. As often as you can. We say 00:25:57.720 --> 00:25:59.700 this all the time. Maybe some of you grew up 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:02.200 as the every time the doors were open type people 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:05.660 with the church. Sunday morning, Sunday night. 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:08.420 Maybe you had a Tuesday night men's group and 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:11.920 your dad drug you along to it. Or you had a Tuesday 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.259 morning women's Bible study and your mom made 00:26:14.259 --> 00:26:16.859 you go. And then you had Wednesday night. And 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:18.960 maybe there was a Saturday night prayer gathering 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.640 over the Sunday morning. And you were there for 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:22.259 everything. And if you were in the youth group, 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:26.230 you went to every single thing. And we complain 00:26:26.230 --> 00:26:28.289 about that sometimes, but I've got to tell you, 00:26:28.309 --> 00:26:30.190 I think I need more and more of that as the days 00:26:30.190 --> 00:26:34.170 go on. Because I cannot make it without community. 00:26:34.990 --> 00:26:39.509 And the truth is, neither can you. We need people. 00:26:40.609 --> 00:26:43.150 And the second thing is to be a person that people 00:26:43.150 --> 00:26:45.150 can lean on. You're going to lean on people, 00:26:45.309 --> 00:26:47.089 and they need somebody they can lean on. That 00:26:47.089 --> 00:26:48.950 sounds like a song. Somebody should write it. 00:26:49.970 --> 00:26:54.279 We need to be people. That people can lean on. 00:26:54.420 --> 00:26:56.539 You may not be the one on the hill today holding 00:26:56.539 --> 00:27:00.119 up your arm, but you sure as well, you can be 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.200 one of those people that's holding up somebody's 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:08.019 arms. Ask yourself, who do I know that needs 00:27:08.019 --> 00:27:11.180 encouragement? Who do I know that needs prayer? 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:15.440 Who do I know that needs me to just step in and 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.200 help them with their ministry or with what it 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:20.279 is that they're trying to accomplish? Who can 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:24.019 I stand beside this week? Who can I text and 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:26.019 say, hey man, I forgot you've got that thing 00:27:26.019 --> 00:27:28.960 going on this week. How can I help? Or how can 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:32.220 I pray for you? Or hey, I know the loss of your 00:27:32.220 --> 00:27:34.380 loved one was difficult. Is there anything I 00:27:34.380 --> 00:27:37.140 can do? Or hey, I know you just had a new baby. 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:39.539 Is there anything I can do to step in? I was 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:41.980 really encouraged a few weeks ago when they talked 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:44.099 about the meal train for Georgia and Elijah, 00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:47.799 and it was said that every day was filled. That's 00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:51.779 awesome. We need more of that. We need more people 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:55.059 saying, hey, I need prayers. And everybody just 00:27:55.059 --> 00:27:57.099 steps in and says, I'll pray with you. I'll pray 00:27:57.099 --> 00:28:00.359 for you. We need more people saying, hey, I've 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:02.980 got this thing going on downtown. And I'm inviting 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:04.900 people. And we're just trying to help the community. 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:07.599 And we need everybody to show up. And everybody 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:11.440 shows up. In a few months, really excited about 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.759 it, I'm going to go ahead and plug this. We're 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:15.579 going to have a friends and family day. Who do 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:18.220 you know? That needs you to invite them to know 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.079 Jesus. We were at Meeks Park for the fireworks 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:24.460 on Friday night. And we met this random guy who 00:28:24.460 --> 00:28:27.119 was sitting next to us. And before we left, Easton 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:29.460 goes, hey, I'll see you at church on Sunday. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.799 And the guy was like, yeah. But we need more 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.640 people. Inviting people to come find the community 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:42.559 that we have here. Be a person that people can 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.619 lean on. Be looking to make sure that your people 00:28:45.619 --> 00:28:48.099 aren't growing weary as they run the race, but 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:50.079 make sure that you're there to lift them up when 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:55.319 they start to get tired. And third, pray your 00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:59.900 way through the fight. The power never came from 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:05.119 Moses' arms. It came from God's. The church in 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:09.440 Acts, they weren't able to transform all of Rome 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:15.359 by themselves. It was by God's power working 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:20.900 through them. There's a reason that Jesus leaves 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:23.880 and He says, I'm going to send something better. 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:27.900 And He sends the Holy Spirit. And there's a reason 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:30.279 that in all of these instances where you see 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:34.720 people doing amazing things, you see the Holy 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:39.829 Spirit working in it. In Acts 2, when you see 00:29:39.829 --> 00:29:42.809 Peter preach this amazing sermon and all of these 00:29:42.809 --> 00:29:45.450 people's lives start to change, who's involved? 00:29:45.710 --> 00:29:49.170 The Holy Spirit. You see the Holy Spirit show 00:29:49.170 --> 00:29:51.289 up over and over and over again in these crazy 00:29:51.289 --> 00:29:55.630 moments because that is God working. And so I 00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:57.130 don't know about you, but I want to invite the 00:29:57.130 --> 00:30:00.779 Holy Spirit to work alongside us. Because I know 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:03.880 that no words that I say can change this city. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.940 No words that I say can change this area. But 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:11.140 you know who can? God. And so I'm going to pray 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:15.359 every day that God works through me. That God 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:19.400 works through this church. That in my darkest 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:23.180 moments, in my toughest battles, when I'm growing 00:30:23.180 --> 00:30:27.299 weary, that God be the one that pushes me on. 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:31.710 That God is the one. that lifts me up so that 00:30:31.710 --> 00:30:36.630 we can keep working for His good. Pray your way 00:30:36.630 --> 00:30:41.390 through the fight. If I can leave you with a 00:30:41.390 --> 00:30:43.789 quote on that, it's lift your hands and surrender 00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:48.789 before you lift your hands and work. Because 00:30:48.789 --> 00:30:51.589 your hands, no matter how strong or tough you 00:30:51.589 --> 00:30:56.869 think you are, are not tough enough. But God's 00:30:56.869 --> 00:31:01.900 are. And if you'll let Him, He'll bring victory 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:04.759 in the fight. For the believers in the room, 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.380 maybe you are growing tired. Maybe you've been 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:10.359 at this for a long time. Maybe you're in a ministry 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:12.680 that you just feel like you have been working 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:17.079 in forever. Maybe you're trying to get something 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.180 accomplished whether it be in this church or 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:21.160 in this community. Maybe you're trying to bring 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:24.339 a message to people abroad. Whatever it is, maybe 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:28.160 you're growing tired. Your arms are weary and 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.400 you have been fighting alone. You do not have 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:36.420 to. And I would say you should not. We're here 00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:40.519 to hold you up. We as a church want to be here 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:42.980 to fight alongside you, to pray with you, to 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:47.079 pray for you. Don't leave today without letting 00:31:47.079 --> 00:31:51.740 somebody in the fight with you. Let somebody 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:54.880 that you trust. Let somebody that you can lean 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:59.170 on. Hold your arms up as you continue inviting 00:31:59.170 --> 00:32:02.450 God in to bring victory. And if you've never 00:32:02.450 --> 00:32:04.609 joined the family of God, if you've never trusted 00:32:04.609 --> 00:32:06.950 Jesus with your life, with your battles, with 00:32:06.950 --> 00:32:10.869 your future, you need to know this. You were 00:32:10.869 --> 00:32:14.390 never meant to stand alone either. Just because 00:32:14.390 --> 00:32:16.670 you're not currently a part of the family of 00:32:16.670 --> 00:32:19.809 God doesn't mean you can't be. And we want to 00:32:19.809 --> 00:32:22.130 let you know that you have an opportunity to 00:32:22.130 --> 00:32:25.470 accept the victory that Jesus has already won 00:32:25.470 --> 00:32:29.130 for you. Because He has already won the greatest 00:32:29.130 --> 00:32:32.289 battle of all, and that is the battle over your 00:32:32.289 --> 00:32:38.170 sin. And the battle for your life. And He won 00:32:38.170 --> 00:32:44.170 it. The victory's already been won. Jesus wants 00:32:44.170 --> 00:32:47.650 you to be a part of His family. And we want you 00:32:47.650 --> 00:32:52.160 to be a part of this family. And so if you're 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.980 ready to say yes to Jesus, if you're ready to 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:58.279 step out in faith and keep fighting the battle, 00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:01.779 or maybe you feel like there's a mission that 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:03.920 you're supposed to be on, or a ministry that 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:06.319 you're supposed to be in, or you want more information 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:10.000 about a prayer group or a small group, if you 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.000 want to know how you can get more involved on 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.119 Wednesday nights, we want you to respond so that 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:19.490 we can best help you along in the fight. Because 00:33:19.490 --> 00:33:23.109 we have been called together. And this right 00:33:23.109 --> 00:33:26.730 here is training grounds. This is where you get 00:33:26.730 --> 00:33:29.509 your encouragement. This is where you get your 00:33:29.509 --> 00:33:32.690 marching orders. This is where you find strength 00:33:32.690 --> 00:33:35.750 to keep fighting another day. And so if you need 00:33:35.750 --> 00:33:39.470 anything, whether it's to accept the call or 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:43.569 to get in the fight, we offer you an invitation 00:33:43.569 --> 00:33:46.410 to come forward, to let us hold up your arms, 00:33:46.410 --> 00:33:49.480 to walk with you. as we stand and as we sing.