I Am Part 4

I AM Part 4 - The Lord our Banner Exodus 17:8-16 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” BANNER - a flag or signal as a rallying point; a sign or declaration of warning, judgment, and of VICTORY. Even though the Lord is their victory… 1. They still had OPPOSITION. 2. They still had to FIGHT. - It was HARD and involved PAIN. - They persevered through WEARINESS (Ref. Galatians 6:9) 3. They didn’t find victory ALONE, they won as a TEAM. 4. God will give unique DIRECTION for each unique SITUATION. Jesus is our VICTORY; He is the SOURCE. 1Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. As a Christian, we are no longer VICTIMS, but VICTORS. Victory is an attitude and action of FAITH, being confident in God (His promises and faithfulness to do them). 1John 5:3-5 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Victory isn’t just a position it is a state of BEING; it directs how we think, speak, and act. Stockdale Principle/Paradox: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” – Vice Admiral,. James Stockdale Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. “More than conquerors” - To gain a decisive and SURPASSING victory and to vanquish beyond.