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[0:00] Well, take your Bibles this morning and you can be opening to our text.

[0:19] Our text is going to be Exodus 17. Now, I promise you, probably shouldn't say I promise you, no man knows what a day is going to bring forth.

[0:30] But next Sunday, my plan is to get back to our study of Luke. But this morning, we're going to be in Exodus chapter 17, and I'm going to defer reading the text until I introduce the subject, our subject for this morning.

[0:46] But you could be opening your Bibles and finding Exodus chapter 17. We'll get to it by and by. Jesus said in Matthew 24, verse 6, that the sign of his second coming will be, quote, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

[1:08] We're familiar with that passage. Then he goes on to say, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Nation is the word ethnos, means people groups.

[1:20] So people groups, groups of people will be fighting against other groups of people. And then the word kingdom is basileia, means sovereign nation, sovereign countries will be fighting against sovereign countries.

[1:34] And so wars and rumors of wars. And we're seeing that happening today, aren't we? That's not going to be my subject this morning, because this morning I want to talk to you about a different kind of war.

[1:48] Really a completely different kind of war. It is, in a sense, the longest running war in the long history of wars.

[2:00] Or the long history of mankind. In the biblical reckoning of time, and I think it's the accurate reckoning of time, this war has been going on for upwards of 6,000, maybe 7,000 years.

[2:15] Long time for a war to be continuing on. And yet, I want you to understand that there is nothing conventional about this war, this particular war.

[2:29] Not in the sense of its location, where the battles are fought. Not in the sense of its weaponry. Non-conventional. Not in the sense of its enemies.

[2:42] Not even in the sense of its casualties. It is a war unlike any other war, or type of war. And yet, in this war, every one of us here today are directly engaged.

[3:01] Every single one of us. It is every Christian's battle. Every Christian man's battle. Every Christian woman's battle. Every Christian young person's battle.

[3:14] By the way, there's some books by that title, aren't there? The kind of war that I'm talking about. And though, in this war, no bullets are shot. No missiles are launched.

[3:27] No bombs exploded. No conventional warfare or weaponry used at all in this particular war. The war that I'm speaking of is really more real than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, or any of the wars recently and currently being fought in the Middle East.

[3:51] This war is more real than all the wars in human history combined. You see, if you're a Christian here this morning, I can't say that that's true of every one of us.

[4:06] I feel confident I could say that that would be true of the majority of us. Hopefully all of us. But if you're a Christian here this morning, you are at war.

[4:17] Do you know that? There's a war going on. In fact, you've already fought a few battles this morning, probably, as soon as your alarm clock went off. You're at war.

[4:29] Now, you're not at war with me, I hope. I'm not at war with you. You're not at war with your brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope you're not. You're at war with yourself.

[4:45] You're at war, really, within yourself. This war takes place within you. Within all of us. And it represents, I would say to you, it represents the biggest challenge you will face in 2016.

[5:00] That's why I've decided to speak on this subject this morning. This is the first Sunday in 2016. And so, in this war, you know, every war has good guys and bad guys.

[5:15] I guess in some cases it depends on your perspective. But every war has good guys and bad guys. And in this war, the good guy is your spirit. Your spirit.

[5:26] That redeemed part of you. Through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The enemy in this war is in a word, and it's the word the Bible uses.

[5:42] Your flesh. Your flesh. I'm not talking about flesh and blood. You know, the physical flesh and blood of you. But it's that part of you that is still unredeemed, by the way.

[5:58] Unredeemed. It is your fallen, that fallen part of you. The old humanness in you. That part of you that, by the way, is polluted with sin.

[6:16] Wickedness. I'm sorry, but that's true of everyone of us. In fact, it's more polluted than most of us realize. Now, understand that the flesh will one day be redeemed as well at the resurrection.

[6:32] But until then, as Paul wrote in Galatians 5.17, and Paul quoted this, read this a moment ago, part of this. The desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the spirit, the desires of the spirit are against the flesh.

[6:48] For these are opposed to each other. So for now, this is the case for every one of us. And so as believers, we, you know, we really have three enemies.

[7:00] I'm sure you've had this explained, and you understand this. We have three enemies, primarily. The world, the devil, and the flesh.

[7:12] And we can't always make a separation. The devil, by the way, is involved in all of these, okay? Even the battle that we experience with the flesh, the devil's very much active in that.

[7:27] But these are primarily the three enemies. The world is our enemy. Now, I'm not talking about the flesh and blood world. Remember, Paul said we do not war against, our fight is not against flesh and blood.

[7:41] But the world philosophy is our enemy. The godlessness of this world. The Christlessness of this world.

[7:54] And I can say the Christianness, the anti-Christianness of this world, is our enemy. Luther once wrote, the world is like a drunken peasant.

[8:08] That's a pretty good image. He said, if you lift him up in the saddle on one side, he will fall off on the other side. One cannot help him no matter how hard one tries.

[8:19] He wants to be the devils. And that's the world. The unsaved world. Adrian Rogers said something similar.

[8:29] He said, the world is literally running to the devil as if he were the one true God. And we see that every day, don't we? Now, there is, of course, a reason for that.

[8:42] Because, you see, the devil is also our enemy. Our enemy. 1 John 5, verse 19. The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

[8:55] That's the devil. Jesus said in John, chapter 12, verse 31. He is the ruler of this world. I mentioned what Paul wrote.

[9:06] He said, we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against, ultimately, the ruler of this present age. This present world. That's the devil. Paul also said in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 4.

[9:18] He is the God of this world. The God. Now, that's God with a little g, okay? He's the God of this world. And that he has, Paul said, blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

[9:39] And that explains a whole lot, doesn't it, in our world today. But now, the flesh is also our enemy. And I would suggest to you that the flesh is our most formidable.

[9:53] Enemy. That we face. Every day. He is our most immediate enemy. More than the world and more than the devil.

[10:05] Because, you see, the flesh, that unredeemed part of us, literally hates God and anything about God. And that's inside of us.

[10:18] And so we do battle with our flesh every single day of our lives. As someone has said, we have met the enemy and he is us. Literally. And listen, the flesh is why we have problems in our relationships.

[10:34] All of our various relationships. The flesh is why we have problems in marriages. The Bible says, only by pride comes contention.

[10:44] If there's contention in a marriage and there, you know, always is, and some are much more severe, then there's only one reason. Pride. Pride. That's the flesh.

[10:57] The flesh is why we say hateful and hurtful things to people sometimes. And we can never take those words back. The flesh is why we get offended so easily.

[11:11] Why we wear our feelings way out there on our sleeve. Depending on how long your sleeve is. And we get offended. It's because of the flesh. And we get crossways with people because of our flesh.

[11:23] The flesh is why we sometimes deal with depression. Now, I know there are other physiological reasons. But flesh is at the heart of depression in many a person's life.

[11:41] The flesh is why we disobey God's word. Just to say generally. Why we sin. The flesh is why we are prone to be self-centered.

[11:53] And we all are prone to be self-centered. And we all are, to some degree, self-centered. We can't escape it. It's because we can't escape the flesh. Not until Jesus comes or He takes us out of this world.

[12:05] And He redeems the flesh as well. The flesh is why we're self-centered. Prideful. It's why we are self-reliant. And we all are, to some degree.

[12:19] The flesh is why we are self-promoting. I know this is not very enjoyable. We just need to identify what the problem is.

[12:30] The flesh is why we are so weak in our self-discipline. Especially in the area of spiritual things. I mean, why do you think it's so difficult for us to make New Year's resolutions?

[12:46] And why it is even more difficult to keep them. And why quite often we make them and break them within a week of making them. Why is that?

[12:59] The flesh. Paul said in Romans 7, 18. He says, For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh.

[13:09] Nothing good dwells in the flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

[13:25] Anybody here relate to that? At least one amen. And Paul later in that same chapter said, O wretched man that I am!

[13:37] Who will deliver me from this body of death? Then, of course, Paul gives the answer or begins to give the answer in the very next verse.

[13:47] He says, Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The implication is that victory comes through Him and only Him. And so victory is possible in this battle.

[13:59] Always possible. Victory is possible over this war. There can be victory over the flesh. We can win the battles.

[14:10] And that is what I want us to learn this morning from this passage in Exodus chapter 17. How to win the war of 2016. Not a famous war in any of the history books.

[14:26] Like the war of 1812 or something like that. But it's a war that is headed our way. It's already started. Every one of us have already experienced some of the battles in 2016.

[14:39] And there will be many more to come. And how shall we win that war of 2016? How can we have victory over the flesh as we do battle against the flesh every single day of this new year?

[14:53] Well, let's read this passage. And it's a familiar one. Starts with verse 8. Though a little bit later we're going to back up and look at what happens in the first part of this chapter.

[15:07] But starting with verse 8 of chapter 17 of the book of Exodus. There is this story related to us. Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

[15:21] And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us some men and go out. Fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.

[15:34] So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed.

[15:48] And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. And Moses' hands became heavy. So they took a stone, put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side.

[16:04] And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua.

[16:21] That I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called its name, The Lord is my banner.

[16:32] For he said, Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. And literally you could say, Generation to generation to generation upon generation.

[16:48] Interesting story. Perhaps it's familiar to you. It is a true story, by the way, as all the stories in the Old Testament are and New Testament.

[16:58] And so this is not some kind of myth or some kind of fictitious story with merely a principle. But it's a true story, the life of Moses and the people of God.

[17:09] But more importantly, it pictures for us the battle that we have with our flesh. And it's really quite an interesting picture.

[17:22] And more significantly, of course, it also pictures for us how we can fight this battle and win. This battle against the flesh.

[17:33] And win those battles. And I speak of battle in the singular, but really, in reality, it's battle after battle after battle. And we will continue to have those battles until we leave this world.

[17:48] All right, so this is what it pictures for us. This war, this battle with the flesh. And it also helps us understand how we can win it. Now, let me identify the picture, first of all.

[18:01] Because you might think, well, how do you get that from here, from this? Well, the Bible's story mentions Amalek. The descendants of Amalek are the Amalekites.

[18:13] And we run into the Amalekites a number of times in the Old Testament. But Amalek is mentioned here, and that's a person's name. And Amalek was the grandson of Esau.

[18:26] Remember who Esau was? Esau was the twin brother of Jacob. Just a little test, see if anybody can answer. Twin brother of Jacob.

[18:38] Of course, Esau was born, came out of the womb first, right? All right, so Esau and Jacob, twins, sons of Isaac. Isaac, the son of Abraham.

[18:51] Isaac, the son of promise. All right, so Esau is the grandson of Abraham. All right, so that gives you kind of the historical context, who this Amalek is.

[19:04] And you surely remember the story of Esau. Esau and Jacob. Esau, again, birthed first, even though they were twins. And so he came out first. He gets the birthright.

[19:16] And yet at some point, he sells it, doesn't he? And what does he sell it for? Yeah, some food. Pot of stew. Bowl of stew. I mean, think about that.

[19:28] Sells his birthright for a bowl of stew. But he was hungry. Right? Right? He'd been out hunting, been out.

[19:39] He's come home, and he's famished, and he's hungry. And the most natural thing to do is to sell your birthright for a bowl of stew. Right? Ridiculous. But that's what he did. And so he sold his birthright.

[19:52] He gave up his birthright to satisfy the desire of his flesh. Clearly. And so Esau, then, was a prime example of a man almost totally ruled, governed by the desires, the cravings, the power of his flesh, his fleshly desires.

[20:16] And so the Amalekites in our story, the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, represent the flesh.

[20:29] The flesh. And that's why, in verse 16, the Bible says, The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Literally, again, from generation to generation.

[20:40] Generation of God's people. And we're one of those generations. And still having battle with Amalek.

[20:51] The flesh. And so this battle between Israel and Amalek represents the battle that rages in every Christian's life between the spirit and the flesh.

[21:02] So how can we have victory? Because victory is possible. Always. And victory is what we need to have. It's not a one-time victory.

[21:14] And it's over with. And finally, that enemy has been destroyed. And no longer will the enemy attack. It's not that kind of a thing. God said from generation to generation to generation for us, day after day after day, we do battle with Amalek.

[21:37] Or the flesh. How can we have victory in these battles? Well, let's see how this story reveals. And so there are three things that we need to see from this story.

[21:48] And here's the first one. And this is part of us learning how to have victory over the flesh. And it's simply this. The certainty of that fight.

[21:58] The certainty of it. The certainty of our fight. No matter how spiritually mature the believer. Every Christian will fight this battle.

[22:11] And I would even say every single day. Now, you know, we know what Romans 7 says. And that Paul had this battle every day.

[22:24] And so, if Paul did, so will you. And so will I. It's not a question of if. It is a question of when and how often.

[22:36] And I suppose we could say whether or not you're going to win. It's a big question. Now, it's very helpful, I think, though, to know when these battles usually come.

[22:47] Because it's not always just a constant thing. And there are various times when the battle will come.

[22:58] When the flesh will raise its ugly head. And, you know, insert itself into our lives as believers. But there are some times when it's more common.

[23:11] And it's interesting to note in our story what took place before Amalek attacked God's people. In fact, we find out about that in the first part of this chapter.

[23:23] And so I want to read that to you. Look at verse 1 of chapter 17. It, too, is an interesting story. But we need to put the story of the first eight verses of chapter 17.

[23:36] Or first seven verses. And put that with our story here that we're looking at. Because they go together in many ways. And so let me start with verse 1.

[23:47] Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin. According to the commandment of the Lord. And camped in Rephidim. All right.

[23:58] So we, in our passage I read a moment ago. They are still camped in Rephidim. All right. So the Lord commanded them to camp there. Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink.

[24:08] Which is a pretty serious condition. Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. So Moses said to them, Why do you contend with me?

[24:19] Why do you tempt the Lord? The people thirsted there for water. And the people complained against Moses and said, Why is it that you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?

[24:35] So Moses cried out to the Lord saying, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel.

[24:50] Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go. So before I will stand before you there, Behold rather, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, And you shall strike the rock, And water will come out of it, That the people may drink.

[25:12] And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, Because of the contention of the children of Israel.

[25:23] And because they tempted the Lord saying, Is the Lord among us or not? All right, now there's a lot in this story that we could spend some time on.

[25:33] But the thing that I want you to understand is really what happened toward the end of the story. The people of Israel were thirsty.

[25:45] I mean, they were in dire straits. They didn't even have water for their livestock. And this is a pretty serious condition. And God performs a miracle through Moses.

[25:56] And what a miracle it is. And what you need to focus on here is this demonstration of God's power And God's care for his people. Because this was a time of refreshing for God's people.

[26:11] Even though they kicked and complained all the way to it. A time of refreshing. They were thirsty. They were dry. And they were thirsty. And God refreshed them. Which, by the way, is a wonderful picture of spiritual revival.

[26:25] Here at Rephidim. And the people of God were revived. What happened next? Amalek came.

[26:36] Verse 8. Almost immediately we have this. Amalek came and fought against them. You see, seemingly out of nowhere. God's people were dry.

[26:52] Thirsty. To the point of beginning to complain against God. And God is so gracious to revive them and refresh them. And now they're back up on the mountaintop.

[27:04] And what happens? Amalek comes. Has that ever happened to you? No. At a time when, you know, it's been a blessed time.

[27:17] High point. Spiritually. And then out of nowhere. The flesh. It happens all the time.

[27:32] It happened to Noah. Remember? Noah. What an experience he had. And his family. Saved out of all the population of the world.

[27:44] Saved through a flood. Saved in the ark. Came out of the ark. And God made a covenant with Noah. What a high point in Noah's life.

[27:55] And what's the next thing we read about in the Bible? He gets drunk. I don't mean just a little inebriated. It's so drunk he's naked. Doesn't even realize it.

[28:06] He just lost all control. It happened also to Elijah. Remember Elijah's high point. Taking on the prophets of Baal.

[28:18] 400 prophets of Baal. And God brings a great victory. And what a display of the power of God. Operating through the prophet Elijah. And what's the next thing we read about?

[28:32] He's running and hiding out from one woman. Same thing happened to David. I mean all these circumstances are a little bit different.

[28:42] But still it marks a high point in the life of God's man or God's woman. And then suddenly the flesh comes in.

[28:54] David was at the high point of his kingship. He was a great king and a great military leader. And he had fought many battles. And the armies of Israel had won those battles.

[29:05] And at that point in his life all of his enemies were subdued. And he's there in his temple or in his castle. You know. And he doesn't have any more to do.

[29:16] All of his enemies have been subdued. And he's just kind of walking around. You know on the top of the roof there. Looking down on his kingdom.

[29:27] And he sees a woman bathing. And you know the rest of the story. And he's got a high point. And boom. Battle with the flesh.

[29:38] And the battle that he lost. Same thing happened to Peter. And we're just picking out some of those out of the Bible. Peter. Great confession.

[29:49] Of who Christ is. You know. You're the Christ. Son of the living God. And Jesus said.

[30:00] You're going to deny me. Oh no. I'd go to prison. I mean he's at a high point. What's the next thing we find out about Peter? He denies even knowing Jesus.

[30:13] Even cursing. And somebody asks him the question. It can happen to anyone. It'll happen to you. See that's what we need to understand.

[30:24] The certainty of our fight. Against the flesh. The minute you think that you have arrived. Or you're past that. The minute you think you're strong enough.

[30:34] So that that no longer is an issue in your life. That's the minute that you fail. The certainty of your fight. And not just a one time fight. Not just even one time a day.

[30:47] All throughout the day. And every day. Verse 12 says. The battle continued how long? Until the going down of the sun. Symbolic I think of this.

[30:59] Until the going down of the sun. In your life. On this earth. The flesh will continue to attack. All right. So then to have victory over the flesh.

[31:11] The first thing we need to understand. Is the certainty of the battle. The certainty of our fight. Every day. Now the second thing we need to understand. Is the strategy of our foe.

[31:25] Our enemy. In this case. The flesh. Though Satan's involved here of course. Tempting the flesh. Prompting the flesh. So forth. It's the flesh.

[31:37] And we need to know the strategy. A lot of you watched football over the New Year's holiday. And most of you were disappointed. Big time. Right? Can I get a witness for that?

[31:50] Bad. Bad time for Oklahoma football. I noticed Dave and Paul are not here. A&M lost. So I guess he's licking his wounds. I don't know. Rocky.

[32:01] No I know he's. They're gone for another reason. And I'm sorry that I even brought that ugly specter up. Now you probably.

[32:12] A lot of you. Not even going to listen to anything else I have to say. Well. By the way. Was there any flesh involved? You know. When you were watching. OU get destroyed. And OSU get.

[32:22] Any. Did you have any battles with flesh? Well. Let's move on from there. But anyway. The point I want to make is. We spend. You know. A few hours.

[32:33] Watching. A football game. Watching two teams. Battle on the old gridiron. You know. And usually. We don't even realize. That hours.

[32:44] And hours. And hours. Have been spent. By each of these teams. Before game time. Learning everything. They can learn. About their opponent. Everything about it.

[32:56] Everything possible. Their strengths. And weaknesses. You know. Their offense. Their defense. Every player. That could possibly be playing. All the plays. That they might use.

[33:06] And. And. And. What they're doing. Is trying to discover. Beforehand. What that team's strategy. Is going to be. I mean. They all do it. Hours. Before.

[33:18] It's part of it. You're going to win. You need to try to understand. Those things. Right. Then. You sometimes don't win. But. So. To have victory over the flesh.

[33:29] We too. Must. Must understand. How the flesh operates. We need to. Understand. Our opponent. Which is really kind of strange. Because.

[33:40] You know. We're not walking around. As split personalities. I mean. The flesh. That flesh is Don Coleman. All right. But.

[33:50] We need to understand. The. The. The strategy. Of the foe. And. And. I guess. Really. By. By extension. We are understanding. How. Satan works. Because. He. Is involved.

[34:01] In tempting. Our flesh. We need to understand. The strategy. And so. Let's see. The strategy. Of Amalek. Because. It's instructive. For us. Helps us understand.

[34:13] And. Several things. About. The strategy. Of Amalek. Here. He attacked. First of all. He attacked. Unexpectedly. I mean. You. You can't help. But get that here. Again.

[34:24] According to. Verse 8. Verse 1. And also. Verse 8. Israel was encamped. At Rephidim. And by the way. Rephidim. Means. Resting place. Or.

[34:35] Refreshment. And so. As I mentioned earlier. Israel was rested. They were refreshed. They were revived. By the water. That God provided them. And then.

[34:47] Unexpectedly. What happened? Amalek. Amalek. Amalek. Came and fought. Against Israel. It was unexpected.

[34:59] Though. He should have been expected. Because. See. There's the certainty. Of our fight. And the minute. You're not expecting. The flesh. To be engaged.

[35:10] In. Whatever the set of circumstances. Are. At that particular moment. If you're not expecting. That to ever happen. Then it's going to happen. And you'll be caught off guard. And you'll likely not.

[35:21] Win. Unexpectedly. Coming out of nowhere. And again. In. This case.

[35:32] And. It's very true. Of us. Though it's not always. The case. Usually. Happens. When. We're feeling great. When. Everything seems right. And. Especially. Our relationship.

[35:43] With God. And. Maybe. It's even right after. A very. Sweet time. Of prayer. With him. And then. Suddenly. Something just comes out. Of our mouth. We say. What? Where? Where did that come from?

[35:55] Or somebody. Will just push that. Button. And boom. We react. A certain way. And we. We wonder. How did that happen? Or some.

[36:06] Event. Will take place. And we react. Badly to it. Or. Whatever it is. Whatever the scenario is. It's. It comes. It comes. Unexpectedly. And that's the strategy. Of our foe.

[36:18] Catch us. Off guard. And so we need to be on guard. And know the strategy. Of our foe. Notice also.

[36:29] He attacked. Indirectly. And you can't notice that. From the passage. That I read. Here. Our passage. In Exodus 17. But there is another account. Very brief account.

[36:40] Of this same event. This same battle. In Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 25. You don't need to turn to it. But you can mark it down. If you take notes. But in Deuteronomy chapter 25.

[36:51] In verse 17. Listen to what. The Bible says. Remember what. Amalek. Did to you. On the way. As you were coming out of Egypt. How he met you.

[37:03] On the way. And attacked your. Rear. Ranks. All the stragglers. Literally the feeble. At your rear.

[37:14] When you were tired. And weary. And he did not fear God. Now. That's a very instructive. Verse of scripture. A couple of verses. Verse 17 and 18.

[37:25] Of Deuteronomy chapter 25. In the first place. It helps us understand. That this was a sneak attack. Sneak attack. This was not a. Head on attack.

[37:36] Not a frontal attack. But. And so. We understand that. Israel had let down their guard. At least their rear guard. And the enemy flanked them.

[37:47] Because. Israel was not looking. For them there. For an enemy to attack. There. From that direction. And that's the way. It often is. When the flesh attacks us.

[38:00] When we do battle with the tech. The flesh. We. We become confident. We become. Comfortable. We become.

[38:12] Complacent. Then. And we don't see it coming. Though. We should have. We should have. So. The flesh. Attacks.

[38:23] Unexpectedly. So you need to. Expect the unexpected. The flesh. Attacks. Indirectly. And then third. The flesh.

[38:34] Attacks. Shamefully. Amalek. Attacked. Shamefully. In a very shameful way. In that passage. That I read. In Deuteronomy. Chapter 25. Not only did.

[38:44] Amalek. Attack. From behind. But. They also. Attacked. The weak. The feeble. He attacked.

[38:56] Attacked. Shamefully. I mean. Really. Think. It's not the right way. It's the coward's way. He attacked. At their.

[39:07] Weakest point. The. Bible uses the word. Stragglers. Could also be translated. Feeble. And that. Too. Is kind of a general term.

[39:19] That would describe. Those who are frail. Frail. Maybe. Health. Health issues. Or maybe because of age. So. So in the rear guard. You have the frail. The sick.

[39:29] The women. And children. The elderly. That's where Amalek. Attack. From the rear. No honor. Shameful.

[39:42] See. Our flesh. Never attacks. Our strengths. Where. We are. Strongest. You know. There. A lot of ways.

[39:53] To sin. A lot of things. That. A person. Can commit. Sins. Committed. Against God. Disobey. God's word. A lot of temptation. That we can. Succumb to.

[40:04] But you know. Not every temptation. Will. You even. Succumb to. Or even have a possibility. There's some things. That Satan. And your flesh. Could tempt you with.

[40:14] That. You wouldn't have any trouble. Saying no to. I mean. There's some strengths. That we have. There's some areas. Of sin. That. That. That. That. We're never tempted. In.

[40:27] Because. The flesh. Never attacks. There. Never. Attacks. Attacks. Our strengths. Always. Our weaknesses. And. Where we are. The weakest.

[40:38] At that moment. I think. Actually. Though it's difficult. To use Jesus. As. Any kind of illustration. Of this. Yet. I think we can.

[40:49] Use Jesus. Because Jesus. Came. As a man. Wrapped himself. In human flesh. Though his flesh. Was not polluted. With sin. There was no sin.

[41:00] Nature. In Jesus Christ. That's another. Issue. And yet. He. Did. Understand. Temptation. And did. Feel. Temptation. In fact. I think. He. Experienced.

[41:10] Temptation. To a fuller degree. Than any of us. Could ever. Ever. Ever. And will ever. Experience. But you remember. At the beginning. Of his ministry.

[41:20] Really. Before his ministry. Began. He had. What we. Call. A mountaintop. Experience. Even though. It was down. At a river. John. Baptized. Jesus. There. In the river.

[41:31] Jordan. And then. The spirit. In the form of a dove. Descended. Upon Jesus. And the voice of God. The father. Spoke out of heaven. You are. My beloved son.

[41:42] And whom. I'm well pleased. What an experience. For Jesus. The man. Then immediately. The bible says. He was led. By the spirit. Out into the wilderness.

[41:52] Where he fasted. For forty days. And forty nights. And you know. After that. He was powerful hungry. I can't even imagine. Doing a forty day fast.

[42:02] I know there's some. Who've done that. He was hungry. And so. Then what happened? Then Satan came. He knows when to come.

[42:14] He came. And he tempted. Jesus. At the level. Of his flesh. Those natural. Desires of the flesh.

[42:25] And what did. Satan say. To Jesus. He said. If you are. The son of God. Command. This stone. That it may be. Made into bread. What a temptation.

[42:38] Don't you think. Jesus was tempted. Now he didn't. Succumb to that. Temptation. Of course. This is how. The flesh operates. This is the. Modus operandi.

[42:49] Of the flesh. This is the strategy. Of the flesh. To hit you. At your weakest. Places. In your life. Places. That really need. To be shored up. And yet.

[43:00] We have. Allowed. To. Kind of. You know. Become. Weak. And weaker. Or. To attack you. At a weak. Moment.

[43:11] In your life. Maybe something. Has happened. Has brought you down. And Satan. Will attack. Then. And attack. Your flesh. At that point. So he attacks. Attacks.

[43:21] Unexpectedly. When. We least expect him. He. Attacks. Indirectly. Where. We least expect him to. And he attacks.

[43:33] Shamefully. How we least expect him to. And then fourth. He attacks. Arrogantly. Again. In that passage. In Deuteronomy.

[43:43] Chapter 25. The Bible says. There at the close. Of verse 18. It says. That Amalek. Fears. Not. God. Now.

[43:54] If Amalek. Represents. Our flesh. What does that say. About. Our flesh. Doesn't fear God. See. I'm talking. To born again. Believers. Here. Battle.

[44:07] Didn't rage. With unbelievers. It didn't have to. The battle. Rages. With the believer. Between spirit.

[44:17] And flesh. So I'm talking. To. To born again. Believers. There is still. An unredeemed. Part of you. That the Bible. Calls. The flesh. And your flesh. Is arrogant.

[44:28] Before God. It is. I know. We don't like. To think of it. Because again. When I talk. About my flesh. I'm talking. About Don Coleman. Arrogant.

[44:42] My flesh. Does not. Fear God. Doesn't fear. God the son. Nor does it. Fear. Fear. The spirit of God. The holy spirit.

[44:52] Of God. In me. Because. My flesh. Hates God. At. Emity. With God. Fears. Not. God.

[45:02] So. Alright. So. How are we going to. Have. Have victory. What. What. What. What. Are we going to do. About this. Well. That leads. Then. To the final point.

[45:13] First. The certainty. Of our fight. Second. The strategy. Of our foe. And then. Third. And finally. The victory. Of our faith.

[45:23] How are we going to. Stand against. The flesh. How are we going to. Win. The war. Of 2016. 2017.

[45:34] 2018. 2019. Every year. On. Until. Jesus. Takes us. Out of this world. How are we going to. Have victory. Well. The answer is right here.

[45:44] In our story. Many other places. In the Bible. The story. Illustrates. The answer. Here for us. And it starts. The first part of it. Is verse 9.

[45:55] And it's pretty easy. To miss. But I want you to look at it. Verse 9. And Moses said to Joshua. Choose us some men. And go out. Fight with Amalek. Tomorrow.

[46:07] I will stand. On the top. Of the hill. And with. The rod. Of God. In my hand. Alright.

[46:17] So. What's he going to do? He's going to go up. A high place. Some place. That can be seen. From the battlefield. He's going to go up. On the hill.

[46:28] He's going to have. The rod of God. Alright. We'll find out. What he does with it. Here in just a minute. But. Whose rod is it? It's God's rod.

[46:40] It used to be. Moses rod. I said. God didn't give him. At some point. A different rod. It's the same rod. He started out with. But it's God's rod. At some point.

[46:53] Back. God commanded Moses. To throw it down. And then pick it back up. And really. Generally. Well there are some exceptions. From that point on.

[47:04] It is generally referred to. As the rod of God. So. Something has changed. And I think the lesson. Is really pretty. Pretty simple.

[47:14] God wants us to. Throw down everything. That we have. Give it to God. All those things.

[47:25] That we hold dear. Think. Much up. All those. Those things. That. Actually become. The battleground. Between flesh and spirit.

[47:37] Our talents. Our gifts. Our strengths. Our weaknesses. Our family. Our possessions. Our jobs. Our loves. Our hates.

[47:47] Our fears. Our goals in life. Our expectations of life. And we could go on and on with the list. Everything. Throw it down. Throw it all down.

[48:01] Pick it up. And when we pick it up again. They're no longer ours. They belong to God. By the way. Again. This is not something that. It's just once and done.

[48:13] It's something we do every day. Sometimes we. Pick up our own things. We need. To turn it all over to God. All over to God.

[48:24] And continue to do that. Daily. That's part of our prayer. Throw it down. And then it becomes God's. And especially those things. That represent our strengths. Strengths.

[48:35] Because we have some. Our own strength. In fact. We are. Prone to trust in our own strength. We need to throw that down.

[48:47] So that it becomes God's strength. So then when we face Amalek. Face the flesh. We face him with God's strength. Well that's the beginning for us. Then what?

[49:00] Verse 11. And so it was. When Moses held up his hand. The implication being. He held up the rod of God. That Israel prevailed.

[49:11] As long as he held it up. Israel prevailed. Joshua and the armies. Prevailed against Amalek. And when he let down his hand. Amalek prevailed. Back and forth.

[49:22] But Moses hands. Became heavy. So they took a stone. Put it under him. And he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur.

[49:34] Supported his hand. One on one side. The other on the other side. And his hands were steady. Until the going down of the sun. And we know the rest of the story.

[49:45] Joshua. The armies of Israel. Won the battle. Won the battle. What a story that is. And you know. Just reading it. We think.

[49:55] Well this is just strange. Now what does this have to do. With fighting battles. Have Moses holding up the rod of God. And he's got a couple of helpers.

[50:06] On each side. Make sure that rod's up. As long as it's up. Then Israel prevails. And. So they held it up. Helped him hold it up. And the battle was won.

[50:17] I mean this is strange. Well the lesson of course. Our only lesson. Is that. It's God's strength. That gives us victory over the flesh.

[50:30] It's not your strength. Or my strength. It's. His strength. But how do we access that strength? How does that strength. Become. Operational in our lives.

[50:42] As we do battle against the flesh. Well this is interesting. Aaron. Held up one side of Moses hand. One side. One hand. Aaron.

[50:54] Who was he? Well he was brother of Moses. We know that. But. More significantly. He was the first high priest. He was. The first of the priestly line. And we don't have priests anymore.

[51:06] Not in the sense of the Old Testament. Now. Each of us are. Priests. Priests. The priesthood of the believer. What was the job of the priest? Go between.

[51:17] Between. God's people. And God. No access. Other than through the priest. Well what do we have now? We have prayer. And so. He pictures.

[51:29] For us. Prayer. Holding up. The strength of God. Prayer holds up. The strength of God. In our lives. So that.

[51:40] We. We can do battle. Win the battle. Against the flesh. A simple lesson. All right. What about the other guy? Hur. Hur held up.

[51:50] The other hand of Moses. And the other side. Of the rod of God. And we don't know anything about her. In fact. This particular her. Is only mentioned twice. In the Bible.

[52:02] But. As. Is. Quite. Often. The case. His name. Means. Something. And her.

[52:15] Means. Is. Is. Well. Literally. White. And the idea is. Purity. So.

[52:27] Aaron. Then. Represents. Prayer. Her. Represents. Purity. And. So. You put all this together.

[52:39] First. Take. Your. Own. Strength. Things. You're trusting. In yourself. Throw them down. Give them to God. And so. God. Can turn those things. Into his strength. We do that.

[52:51] Every. Every day. Give it to God. And then. Engage. That strength. In your daily life. Through prayer.

[53:03] And. Purity. Personal purity. As. Life. Lived. According to God's word. Those.

[53:14] Two things. You know. The Bible calls this something else. New Testament does. It's called the spirit filled life. Spirit filled life.

[53:27] So. Only then. Will we. Have victory. Over the flesh. And. I mean. Victory. After victory. After victory. After victory. Until Jesus. Redeems our flesh.

[53:39] Right. Paul said. In Galatians 5. 16. Walk in the spirit. And you will not. Fulfill. The lust.

[53:50] Of the flesh. That is. By the way. Walk. And keep on walking. It's a constant. Walking. According to the spirit. God. Yielded to the spirit.

[54:02] Under the control. Of the spirit. We could put it another way. The lordship of Christ. In your life. Walk in the spirit. And keep on walking. In the spirit.

[54:12] Every day. Walking in the spirit. And you will not. Fulfill. The lust. Of the flesh. Simple. Huh? Actually, it is.