Moses Intercedes for the Battle [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher I will write the promised land should be the place of these from his lawyer is the place where you more about the future of the Bible. So if the Old Testament image of the promised land is a picture of the abundant Christian life. Well, it must be your promised land is also your battleground Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In our series called Moses is presented for an older church in North Carolina not able to stay with us throughout the entire program to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. Yours for your donation this month to Allen Wright ministries so as you listen to today's message. We encourage you to go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's pastor out and.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright good news. The spiritual battle, but Christ has been raised from the grave and he lives for you and advocate for you.

He intercedes for you a pours out blessing upon you so that you can fight this battle with every confidence you are winning and will win when a series on Moses and it wow just that is love not been in a hurry coming through the life of Moses.

We started out at the Red Sea because that was our primary image of seeing how it is that God opened up the Red Sea and walked right through on dry land, and we just have been believing God together for a season, which for many of us in and many places in the kingdom of God that we see figuratively is opening up his parting Red Sea is just when you think that you are up against the most insurmountable obstacle in God opens up away witnessing away and that's where we started all of this. We went back and we been following along as Moses was called and he delivered the people as God series of plagues against Egypt and those plagues are culminated with the plague of the death of the firstborn where Emily had the Passover and the blood of the Lamb place of the Hebrew doorpost and they were set free from their bondage and they come out and then they encounter the Red Sea. They passed through the Red Sea and God is a mighty act of judgment against Egypt swallows up Egyptian armies and we seen how it is that when they come out into the desert that the people began to worry and murmur and and grumble that they don't have food. They don't have water and we see how God provides bread for them manna from heaven and how it provides water from a rock and invites them to drink deeply in all throughout this we have been seeing that this all in one way or another is pointing us to the gospel is pointing us to the story. Our own story that we spiritually, not literally but spiritually have been in slavery to sin and fear, and an amazing rescue that God brought the death of the firstborn of God himself.

Christ on the cross becomes the blood of the Lamb wherein we put it, not on our doorpost but it is sprinkled into the heavenly's and we claim it by faith and we are set free and our sins are forgiven and therefore we are a new people, God's people and we walk through life knowing that his his word is what we live on, and the Holy Spirit is living water to us as we been seeing that this is our story and now today we come to another part of the story, which is a very very important part of the story and that is that the people of God are in a fight where in Exodus chapter 17 and where verse eight.

This is the second book, your Bible. Exodus and when chapter 17 would be reading at verse eight is a fitting text.

When you remember Palm Sunday and Jesus coming in and standing over Jerusalem, and in advocating and interceding and weeping and saying, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I long to gather you as a mother hen would gather her chicks but you were not willing you see the heart of God.

Will all of this advocacy is prefigured in this amazing story and Exodus 17 verse eight then Amalek came and fought with Israel at riveting so Moses said to Joshua choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with a staff of God in my hand.

So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek while Moses and Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand.

Israel prevailed whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed Moses's hands grew weary so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it while Aaron and her held up his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side, so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun, and Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses right this is a memorial in a book, and recited in the ears of Joshua that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it.

The Lord is my banner saying a hand upon the throne of the Lord, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

It's a story about winning the battle. Well, I have this to confess, I can be a sore loser or sometimes my teams are all out of the March madness now and I don't have anybody strongly diploma Baylor Bears sugar one lost in the first round the Tar Heels. They had a chance of about four points with about four minutes left of that game and I'm getting better over the years. I don't brood as long about this and I've tried to convince myself that it's not whether you win or lose.

It's how you play the game, but I've never been able to convince myself out when I was coaching Bennett's little soccer team when he was little. Every time we leave the house and my wife would say I just go out there and have fun. Remember it not matter whether you win or lose.

Just about that you have fine out there and she say this week after week. Will the first year I coached we lost almost every game and it wasn't that fun losing every every day. So finally after a number of weeks of this I said sweetheart I said, would you mind quit saying that because it does matter and these boys I'm trying to coach them in life is well one of these boys might grow to be a surgeon one day and I can't envision them just standing over the operating table and saying to the medical team team a listen. It is a life-and-death surgery. But don't worry about how it turns out, because whether he lives or dies.

Only thing that matters is if we had fun while doing this operation.

I just had a hard time envisioning these boys want them growing up to be a salesman coming home one day and said honey I almost had a $20,000 commission today but I blew it because I gave a bad presentation and so I didn't get it.

I don't imagine her saying don't worry about it sweetheart, did you have fun. That's the only thing that Matt matters.

Oh come on, it doesn't matter. Winning and losing, and if it matters over little things like bad compared to the big matters of life. It's well and when you talk about winning and losing in the spiritual life that were really talking about in the victorious abundant Christian life is really talking about being able to have a triumph over the tyranny of sin in our lives were also talking about have a triumph over our flesh that craves such selfish things were talking about. Ultimately, a triumph over the powers of darkness that seek to keep us under condemnation, rather than enjoying the full benefits of what it means to be coheirs with Christ himself. So in the end it really doesn't matter. Ultimately, whether we win or lose in the picture in the Scripture for the Christian is that you win. And so we come today to this battle scene. There is a principal interpreting Scripture that is often references the principle of first mention this rule of first mentioned in the Bible is based on observation that very often when you see something that is mentioned for the first time in the Scripture, you'll see that it is Socializing everything that will be later said about it first words of God. Let there be light, say a whole lot about the nature of God and the nature of what God did when he brought forth his word. It is like light a lamp unto our feet and Revelation so it is when the first mention of the word worship is when Abraham was told to take Isaac up on the mountain. Sacrifice him a course he's never going to sacrifice them because child sacrifice is abomination, but it was words from Abraham that assured Isaac and everyone else and he said we're going to go up and worship and then we will come back and return so that worship is pictured is this.

Glad surrender in trust of God and his provision and so forth with. This is the first mention of a battle to be lots of battles are going to come for the people of God as they conquer the promised land, but this is the first battle that they ever fight and so let's start with this.

In understanding this text recognize the fight. That's the first part of living in what we might call spiritual victory or abundant Christian life that this is a person is recognize that there is a fight. This fight for the people of God came.

Interestingly, after the great miracles of the Passover, the Red Sea and the provision of manna and water from the rock talent right will have more teaching moment from today's important series like something is holding you back if you lack an important scene that could change everything. Is there someone you refuse in stock now. What's missing blessing. We all can override you can learn how to embrace who practice a blessing to Pastor Ehrenreich's new book, which became an Amazon number one best seller. After 370s until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month right ministries once send you the I thank you for your Denilson gift today discovered the power to bless the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We listened you to get a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I banks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor our and.work. Today's teaching now continues once again is after they had experienced great natural provision. There was a great natural battle and many of you could bear witness to this that this is a spiritual picture as well because are so often in which you have spiritual provision that comes in your life then you find yourself facing some kind of new spiritual battle. Beloved, do not be surprised when this happens it was after Jesus had been baptized in the Holy Spirit descended upon him as a dove and the father said this is my son in whom I am well pleased. Then he was taken into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days.

This is just part of what it means to be in a spiritual battle. It means this that when you are growing up in the Lord and when you are experiencing God's grace in new ways that there is an enemy of your soul and that will calm seasonal intensity to the spiritual battles that you face. I know this is just not popular in the modern mindset set to even conceive of there being forces of darkness is darkness in the heavenly places, but is absolutely the picture of Scripture and absolutely any Christians experiences ever walk with the Lord to know that though it may seem primitive to the modern mindset that there's a spiritual battle that is going on. And so when you are growing up in the Lord, you can expect that there is going to be a spiritual attack. It's interesting to me that there was no fighting in Egypt when they were slaves in Egypt.

There were no battles to fight.

They had hard labor and they were abused but they were fighting battles. But as soon as they have freedom as soon as I have experienced what it's like to be a heirs. They find themselves battling years ago preached on Joshua and the primary revelation. The Lord showed me during that whole series that changed so much of the way I look at life was wondering why just studying Joshua and thinking wait a minute there in the promised land in their having to fight every other weekend because I thought you know the promised land should be the place of ease promised land is the place where you don't have any more battles right, not the picture of the Bible. So if the Old Testament image of the promised land is a picture of the abundant Christian life. Well, it must be your promised land is also your battleground. So sometimes when you're in the midst of a battle and you feel like I must really be outside of God's will.

Right now, maybe you need to rethink it go. Maybe this is the way the promised land is and so it is that they have a big battle to fight and they need to recognize that there have a battle to fight.

The second thing is to know who you're fighting and this becomes really really important. Again, this principle of first mention. The first battle that the people they fight against called the Amalekites and they are called first among the nations means like first among the nations that will oppose Israel because he can be so many nations that oppose Israel but the first among the nations, pay attention to.

This is what the Bible is telling us who are the Amalekites Amalekites are descendents of Esau, Amalek was Esau's grandson.

If you remember the story you know that Esau is a very important figure in the Bible.

He was the twin brother to Jacob and Esau was the firstborn of those twins. So, according to the customs and the laws of printed primogeniture. Esau felt entitled and was expecting to receive a special blessing from his father Isaac, and to receive a double portion of the inheritance.

So if there were two boys to twins the way they did.

It was the firstborn we get two thirds of the estate and the second one we get one third and that's what Esau was expecting, but he so in a very interesting way sold his birthright. He was one day, very hungry, and his brother Jacob had made some stupid and said to me some of that stew and Jacob said sell me your birthright and Esau said essentially was my birthright to me when I was hungry as I am sure.

And so the Bible looks back on this story and says that Esau despised his birthright. What is all this pointing to its pointing to this that Esau symbolizes someone who caves in to the fleshly desire, rather than looking to the grace that is in front of him. Instead of living his life out of a sense of glad gratitude for the blessing of being an air and counting it all joy and all important what was coming for him. Instead he succumb to just the fleshly cravings. It's because of this that Esau and the Scripture becomes a symbol of fleshly living. We talk about the flesh in the Bible were not talking about our physical flesh were talking about the idea or the principle of how our sinful nature is so prone to want immediate satisfaction and pay attention to not only the hunger of our belly but the lust of our eyes are the covetousness of our heart for the things of the flesh craves rather than living in the spirit. And so there is a sense in which part of the battle of a of a Christian life is a battle against the flesh so that we live by the function by the infilling by the power of the Holy Spirit, constantly reminding as it were children of God. We live is a heirs of God.

So the first thing that he Saul represents is the flesh Amalekites are descendents of Esau, the symbol of fleshly living non-spiritual living. So that's what they're fighting but there's something deeper about Esau and all that he represents. It is this that when Jacob got the blessing instead of Esau. It came because Jacob was such a connivers and a deceiver that he wriggled his way in and pretended to be Esau so that he and a sense stole the blessing from his brother Esau and Isaac blessed Jacob rather than Esau, and after this happened, Esau couldn't stand Jacob. He couldn't stand the fact that the father had left the one who didn't deserve it. Now this unknown thought a lot of Bible that you hear a lot of it but this is really really important to understand this story and why this is the first battle the primal battle for Israel because this is the primary the first of the foundational battle that we all face and that is that our flesh is crying out that we live by it. Rather than walking in the spirit, but there's something even deeper and more important at work and that is it. Esau symbolizes hatred towards unmerited favor hatred towards the grace of God hatred towards someone being blessed. Who doesn't deserve it and all the entirety of the gospel and everything that makes the gospel good news is based on the fact that we have received unmerited favor from God.

We were all Jacobs. We were all the deceivers. The connivers we were all the sinners and yet what happened was it was a great exchange where in Christ Jesus became our sin and we were imputed with the righteousness of Christ and treated it as though we were the firstborn and receiving a double portion of the inheritance and everything that should've been laid up for Christ alone instead is been shared with us so that we become coheirs with Christ. That's who we are.

So let me tell you what what Amalekites represents what Amalek and all the Amalekites represented they represent the primal spiritual battle because here's what he'll hate help page grace, Satan is a legalist and every part of the spiritual battle in one way or another is designed to bring condemnation against the elect to bring up finding you a sense of inward condemnation, even though in reality you have been set free because in the end, the powers of darkness have no ultimate sway over the people of God except for the deceptions lure us away from the purity and the simplicity of the gospel wherein we know every single day where the children were the heirs of God. That's what Hell hates.

So what were they fighting they were fighting the symbol of fleshly living and hatred of grace, that was the right and Moses intercedes for the battle. Blessing your life. Grace filled vision for your rights, free grace and encouragement.

Alan writes a daily blessing. It's free. Just a quick pastor I got away feel like something is holding you back if you can important see what could change everything.

Is there someone you love to sing stock what's missing blessing. We all need filled vision spoken over you can learn how to embrace the practice of blessing to pastor Alan writes new book, it's a blast, which became an Amazon number one best seller. After 370s until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month right ministries once to send you the I thank you for your demos make your gift today discovered the power to bless the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you get a special offer.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out and got work to get somebody was hanging on now ready for the next installment of the next broadcast would take away can we rest on right now. Will Moses is lifted hands as he intercedes for this ballot. It's a picture of prayer is a picture of praise, but is also a picture of blessing. So in the same way that Moses was interceding in an and Moses is lifted hands were representing his blessing of the people I want to point people to Christ, who is our intercessor and who is our praise and who is the one who blesses us and what a powerful image to think that is the people were in the battle of Moses hands were lifted there with they were winning how much more so can we take this assurance there Christ intercession. Intercession for us. Never ceases. And as long as he continues to be our intercessor were going to be victorious in battle is encouraging often as we find ourselves in this in the spot of Moses. I feel like what I haven't really not be allowed into the promised land. Here is the amazing news the gospel when you accept Christ you're already declared in the promised land. You're already declared blessed with every spiritual blessing.

There's not something else that has to happen in this world you have troubles, but you need to be assured of this God is not withholding his grace for the reason is that God doesn't need to strike you. Christ is strong that really is the point of foreshadowing goes on story of Moses striking the rock later told that rock is Christ, he has already been struck with the blues that should've come upon us, but instead Christ died in our place.

Anyone who accepts him in Christ is blessed already. Given the promised land.

Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries