Jehovah-Nissi, The Lord is My Banner
Introduction:
Blowing vuvuzela with Ghanaian flag and hat.
The World Cup always open with an awe inspiring procession of athletes from all the participating countries of the world marching around the field under their country's banner or flag. The flag is their identification with the sponsoring country and a rallying point for the athletes and fans. Great cheers go up from the citizens of each country as their team goes by with the flag waving back and forth.
We rally 'round the flag each Fourth of July in the United States to celebrate our freedom. We wave flags, bake flag cakes, display flags and sing a song about our flag - the Star Spangled Banner, at the opening of every baseball game.
The most important thing flags or banners do, however, is mark victory. It is well understood that the conquering army in any battle has the right to remove the defeated country's flag and replace it with their own, usually in the highest spot possible for all to see. In my favorite movie, the Patriot, Mel Gibson sees the America calvary men retreating, he runs up and grabs the American flag and heads straight to the enemy and waves the flag and starts the charge back against the British. You see he knew the potential of the army and was leading them to victory and USA independence. You see we are like the calvary men retreating. We have foes that outnumber us like the British. They are skilled and professionals at destroying our lives, we sucked into to imitating the world, we gratify the desires of our flesh, and we are misguided my Satan. The big 3 that are trying to wreck our lives and it’s sin that will destroy us but we have a banner that can overcome our foes. A banner who is like No other.
Transisiton: Please turn in your Bibles with me to Exodus 17:8. As we discover who this banner is.
Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshuab, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited(defeated) Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissic: 16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Pray
I want you to look at verse 14 and 15. God told Moses to write it in the book and rehearse it to Joshua, for I the Lord will put of remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. God will defeat the big 3, world, flesh, devil. Moses built an altar and called it
Jehovah Nissi
•It means a rallying point, shows the prescene of the King
•The banner leading us to Victory
When Moses was up on the hill, he was boasting, I thought that was a sin, but I realize that when we boast about the one who deserves it is not. So I boast in my Jehovah Nissi. Let’s go to the battle scene and see what more to boast about.
•8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
In verse 8 it says the Amalekites came and fought against Israel. A little background on the Amalekites. These people descended from Esau through Eliphaz, and Esau was a person who lived for the things of the flesh. One day, Esau returned from hunting and desired some of the lentil stew that Jacob was cooking. Jacob offered to give his brother some stew in exchange for his birthright—the special honor that Esau possessed as the older son, which gave him the right to a double portion of his father’s inheritance. Esau put his temporary, physical needs over his God-given blessing and sold his birthright to Jacob. The Amalekites sought to gain authority over Israel through intimidation. In Deuteronomy 25:17-18, Moses tells Joshua and Israel to remember what Amalek did to them on the way coming out of Egypt, how they met them and attacked them from the rear ranks, all the stragglers at the rear. If we are traveling with the whole church family who do you think would be in the back. The mom’s with young children, the elderly, the handicapped. And he attacked them, he killed some of them because he did not fear God and wanted to make the people fearful of them. Amalek is a model of our enemy, Like the Miami Heat who have the big 3. We have a big three enemies the world, flesh, and the Satan.
•The World- The world, humanistic, self-centered all about me, I am number one, fist pumping, patting your own back culture
oGirls sample articles from puplic teen magazines state
“The Ultimate Get-a-Guy Guide”
Shedding those Extra Pounds
Shedding those Extra Pounds So He’ll Notice You
“Six Star Couples’ Secrets for Everlasting Love”
“Dude Snagging Do’s and Don’ts”
“Love Clues: Fifteen Ways to Make Him Want You Bad”
“Get Gorgeous: A Survey of One Thousand Teens Reveals Seventy-five Favorite Beauty Products”
“Find True Love: Twenty-four Crucial Clues to Snag Your Crush”
oGuys, I know you, In middle and high school I faced
If I’m not a star athlete, Im not cool,
Video Games- At visitation, 1pm in afternoon
Axe, if you spray a lot girls will like you
Parents, don’t understand lets be rebellious
•The Flesh
oWhen we grow in our love for God, we will realize like I am now realizing just how much we sin. I mean this week alone I sinned at ton. At the traffic light growing impatient about the red light. Or when I was in sports and complaining to the referee. I mean seriously sometimes, I have to ask myself, if I am representing Christ how can I behave like a dummy at a bad call. The flesh is for some of us might be gossiping and judgemental or ragging on each other. It’s our sin, our flesh, our sinful nature we got from Adam. it is the thing that gets in our way for living for God. It’s like in Romans 7. When we try to do good for God we just seem to fall short and we have good intentions, but never live up to the standards.
•Satan
oBe sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8). Timothy Lane states, the way the devil works is simple. He uses the world and your sinful nature to trap you into sin. Then he accuses you of being a hopeless case.
Now, I’ll be honest with you all against these three opponents, devil makes us feel hopeless, we don’t have what it takes to stop the onslaught of the Amalekites they will utterly destroy us and so right now. Your out of no luck. No more effort will work. At the worst thing is the Amalekites attacked you at Rephidim which is a place of rest, in our weakest moment. Israel had just crossed the Red Sea, they had run away from the Egyptians. If you look further back they were tired and thirsty. Making Moses crack a rock to get water. And manna came flowing from the skies. For me in soccer this was after a long 2 a day session when I’m passed out on the floor. We usually are bombarded by the onslaught of the big 3 in our weaker moments.
For me, when I fell captive to sin, I was rolling around with my unsaved friends late at night or I was tired from soccer practice, cranky and irriatible and the last thing I want to do is chores. So, I’d talk back.
•Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek:
Now in the beginning of verse 9 Moses told Joshua to get some men, not get some stragglers or some boys or the feeble in the back, but get some men prepared to fight. Are we living our lives in a way that when others see us can say we are living for the Lord. In your baseball teams, as a soccer referee, at your job. Do people know we are a Christian and if they do are we being a good testimony. Because we need to realize that we may be the only Bible they say. They aren’t going to get a bible but they may see your life and if it seems different they might be interested in learning more about your relationship with Jesus Christ. So Moses tells Joshua to get some men and then he tells him that he will stand on the top of the hill overlooking the battle with the staff of God.
•Tomorrow, I will stand on the top of the hill
At the end of verse 9 he says I will stand on the top of the hill, Moses is overlooking the battle scene and God is overlooking our lives. In fact he has numbered ours days, He knows what will happen in our lives because he is Sovereign and All-knowing. He is in control. When are in trials and strife we need to realize that God is watching us. He has knitted us together in our mother’s wombs, he knows every hair on our head. “Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” Since he knows me so intricately, he knows how to defend me. And anything we have faced in our lives God has allowed to come to us so that we may grow in our Christian character. Remember we are at warfare against the Big 3. Satan wants us to be held down, defeated think we are all alone, the world wants us to think that life about YOLO. so go do stupid things, and our flesh is at war for living for God. Sometimes we need to remember that God is on that hill because that will save us from some stupid sins we commit. When we realize that our Father in Heaven sent his son to die for us, it should change the way be behave. He knows what messes we’re getting into. he knows the idle thoughts, he knows what we are jealous about. He knows and he’s made a way out. Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” he is our victory and I will boast in his power
Not only is our God standing on the Hill, but he as Moses commanded Joshua to go. The Father commanded Jesus to go and live for us with selfless, die to save us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”. You hear that. Jesus Christ lived in this world and he was perfect, spotless, and he understands the battle with the Big 3. He beat them and he has beat them for us. “Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” I’m boasting in my Savior who has paved the way for me to the Father
Moses stated on the way up to the hill he would lift up Rod of God in my hand
Not the rod of Moses or the rod of Aaron, but the rod of God.
Moses had accomplished much with this Rod and that’s what built his confidence in using it.
God told Aaron to use the rod for good. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents, but Aaron’s rod swallowed them up.
1st plague Aaron took his rod and stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and they became blood
2nd plague Aaron stretched out his rod over the streams, over all the waters, and caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt
3rd plague Aaron stretched out his rod and struck the dust of the land, and it became lice
Now, Moses turn
7th plague he stretched out his rod toward the heavens and the Lord sent thunder and hail and fire
8th plague, he stretched out his rod over the land and brought locusts
9th plague the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your rod toward heaven and the Egyptians were in total darkness, while the Israelites had light.
You see, those things just are possible so when Moses said it, God’s rod, he meant it and he had faith the God could do immeasurably more, exceeding abundantly more. “Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” My God has defeated the powerful Egyptians he can defeat anyone
Remember, we got the big three and in our own strength we can’t defeat them but through God and others we can.
They had a battle strategy
Joshua fought directly with Amalek, like we fight directly with the world, flesh, and Satan
Moses, Aaron, and Hur fought from the hill, we might think why would they do this, that doesn’t make any sense, but do you realize the wisdom in this decision. Teenagers, it takes a team to win the wars. In football, assistant coaches are usually up in the press boxes overlooking the football game in action, they have an aerial view. They can see all the action from they high place. We have coaches in our lives that can help us. We have teen staff members that not that long ago were once teenagers and faced the same trials and temptations, and bombardment from the world that you face. We have our leader Bro. Joyner working hard to lead us to victory, lead us to live wholeheartedly for Christ. His desire is that we make our relationship with Christ our own, not our parents, but our very own. Because he knows that to live is Christ. And when the Lord is our Personal Banner we can live an abundant life. “Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” He has given us people who can lead us to the path of righteousness
Hands Lifted Up
Moses holding up the rod may serve as a visible reminder to the soldiers that God will fight for them—they would be inspired by the staff and were prevailing in the battle. The hands lifted up regard our total dependence upon God. Without God we are hopeless. But when his arms became weary his hands fell down and Israel lost
“Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner” will fight for you and is fighting for you. When you are weak and weary when you think you have been overcome by the flesh or satan is making you depressed. Wait.
i.Romans 8:26–27 (NKJV)
ii.26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Warren Wiersbe states, God is concerned about the trials of His people. When He was ministering on earth, Jesus groaned when He saw what sin was doing to mankind (Mark 7:34; John 11:33, 38). Today the Holy Spirit groans with us and feels the burdens of our weaknesses and suffering. But the Spirit does more than groan. He prays for us in His groaning so that we might be led into the will of God. We do not always know God’s will. We do not always know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes so that we might live in the will of God in spite of suffering. The Spirit “shares the burden.”
“Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner”. My God, he sharing my burden, I don’t have to do it all by myself.
Moses went up to the Mountain with Aaron and Hur and when his hands got heavy, because he was probably 80 years old the fell down and Israel started losing in the battle. Our hands get heavy in life with the struggle against the big three and this is the time where we need humility and realize we need people. Aaron and Hur pushed a rock over and propped up Moses on the rock and held his hand up. Teen staff realize that Bro. Joyner needs your help to minister to the youth . He is one man and he can’t do it on his own. You have an important part in the ministry and it’s vital that we listen to his direction for the ministry. Juniors and those who have matured in the faith help your brothers and sisters in Christ out when they are in the battle. Support them, encourage them, As Galatians 6:1 states, bear one anothers burdens. We need each other in this life. It takes a team to win the battles of this life. We have got each other to go through this life. Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is My Banner. I will boast in his providence and giving me godly people to help me get through life.
Illustration: A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. In the process of creating roads and tunnels for his toy cars, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. He pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. He was a very small boy and this was a very large rock. When he got it to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall. Determined the little boy pushed, shoved and pried but every time he thought he had made progress the rock fell back into the sandbox. Again the little boy pushed and shoved until he smashed his chubby fingers and burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy’s father watched from the living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tear fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father. Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength you had available?” Defeated the boy sobbed back, “But I did, daddy, I did. I used all the strength I had!” “No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” And then the father reached down, picked up the rock and removed it from the sandbox.
Have demonstration of guy standing up with rod in hand and hold for a minute and then sit on chair with people helping him hold them up.
1.This place would remind Joshua of victory – our victory is in the cross, we must keep returning to the cross, keep short accounts with God
2.Joshua would remember the way Moses was confident in his standing with God – we to have our confidence in our Jesus (Eph 3 12)
3.Joshua would remember that sometimes they would remain still, sometimes they have to fight, but God always brings the victory
4.Joshua would remember that Moses needed friends to help him maintain the banner being lifted high – we need people who will be our support when we grow weary.
5.Joshua would remember that God had sworn to have war against Amalek from generation to generation – we, as Christians, are at war with the world, the flesh and the devil.