From my journal:
January 12, 2020, I spoke the first time on Exodus 17:8-16, the people of Israel had just experienced water from a rock. The supernatural provision was the bases for the upcoming adversity. The USA has experienced centuries of abundance in provision. Yes, we had our temporary setbacks that cost us lives and fortunes but we bounced back each time.
In Luke 9, Jesus charged His disciples to go enter the mission fields with no provision. He stated to take no extra clothes, food or money, just trust Him. They were charged to eat and live wherever the door opened and not shop around for the best deal. (When scripture speaks of our needs being met, could it be the promise was basics and not the American Dream?)
Then in Luke 22, He speaks of times changing and tells them to take extra provisions and if they don’t have a sword, sell their coat and buy one. One would think He was saying your safety against adversaries will be more intense that that of the cold. (Just a side note: the truth of the Crusades, they picked up the swords only after the Muslims continued to kill them. It was a last resort and it was not for material gain or property as the world history books would teach.)
In verse 8, we find Amalek brought the battle to Israel, Israel did not start this war. In many ways, the world has brought the war to the church and Christianity. From my fifty plus years of living in the church, it was not until the last 20 years that I realized we were ‘holed up’, minding our own business, worshiping God and ‘inviting’ people to the church. During this time we have lost our country due to a ‘leave us alone and we will leave you alone approach’. This revelation led me to feed hungry people under a bridge on Sunday morning before I stood in the pulpit; leave the confines of the office and go to the prisons; visit local bars where people were sick people gathered (risking life was as real as the coronavirus risk today) and doing crazy and risky motorcycle rides to stand against a sin that plagues our nation.
The world was changing outside the church, mounting up greater force and strategies and the best we could muster was a nod or a prayer.
Moses told Joshua to ‘pick out the best warriors and go to the valley to fight’, verse nine in the Complete Jewish Bible. It is my belief the Lord will chose the best, like David’s mighty men who were in-debt, trouble with family and trouble with the law or like Jesus, the overlooked, the rough that still possessed some cuss in them or the outcast tax collectors or as I have been publicly introduced, a 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 guy.
These warriors, which some of the greatest are women (Mother Teresa) are called to the valley to fight, some will die natural deaths (Hebrews 11:35-38) but all will live eternal lives. Jesus Himself tells us not to fear the one (the thing) that can take our lives but to fear the one that can destroy our souls, Matthew 10:28.
Moses, Aaron and Hur all climbed the mountain and engaged the battle from a high place. A place of security, their place. Moses was directly involved in the outcome and was supported by Aaron and Hur. The battle was won as long as Moses was lifting his hands to the Lord, when they became weak, Aaron and Hur assisted by supporting his arms.
This text has become my ‘go to message’ ever since. The intensity, clarity and conviction of the message behind this text for 2020 has increased as we watch a world, not a community, not a state, not even a country but the world, has moved to panic levels.
The enemy has brought the battle to the church world. They brought the acceptance of abortion, gay marriages, the drug culture, acceptance of alcohol and acceptance of church attendance not being important (in the 50’s you could not be a Christian if you didn’t go to church and if you were really serious, you attended three times). This is only the most glaring of sins, not to mention the acceptance of the god of mammon, materialism and the narcissism we have embraced. Where in scripture do we find that we are to build churches that appeal to any one culture or generation? We were taught in the 50’s and early 60’s that church was about God, not the individual’s likes and desires.
The answer for this evil that has attacked our church world, fight and fight we must. We cannot hunker down and hold on!
My interpretation of Exodus 17, God has commissioned Jesus to pick out His warriors. The Holy Spirit has been empowered and directed to ‘recruit’ warriors that will go to the valley and fight. Warriors that understand they must do all they can to live but they know that Psalms 91 for New Testament believers is an eternal promise, not temporal. They are not just willing, they are going to the battle field. They turn their backs on the safest, easiest path. They risk everything to follow the Master into the battlefields. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty (don’t get me wrong, we are all washing our hands more). They are not afraid to touch a leper and give them the needed emotional and spiritual touch their Leader gave as He touched and was touched by the ‘unclean’ when He walked the roads of Israel.
The priesthood, Aaron, is positioned to assist God (God’s design to let mere humanity assist Him in this battle of good and evil for a while longer. One day, the last battle will be fought and we will ride behind His white horse and bring evil to a complete end). We need the priesthood to support the warriors in the valley. This support is given by recruitment, training, healing when they get wounded and financially focusing on the war in the valley. Unfortunately there will be warriors who mess up, become a victim to evil. They will make big mistakes, there will be churches, the priesthood that will restore them back to the battlefield. This is a must! Please consider, victory is not won on the mountain but in the valley (of the shadow of death).
This Hur, only mentioned here and in Exodus 24, when Moses told the people they had Aaron and Hur to settle their disputes when he went on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Rabbinical history says that Hur was killed at the golden calf experience for standing against Aaron and the people, who knows? In the beginning it seemed this was the non-clergy that would support the warriors but it appears to be the intercessors. Warriors need the Lord to raise intercessors for the battle in the valley, not the existence of a system. Having traveled over 700,000 miles on a motorcycle in all types of weather, sometimes over 26 hours straight without going to bed, it has been not because I am Superman or possess some special physical power. It is due to a wife and family who intercedes. Then at times, there has been intercessors tell me they we’re awakened and lifted me in prayer. Looking back at the time frame, it was a very critical moment.
The final verse of this chapter speaks of a continuation of the battle against Amalek. There is no end to the battle until the end of the book of Revelation. Amalek in the Strongs concordance is ‘valley dwellers’ but in Rabbinical history, they are called ‘blood lickers’. Interesting, these ‘blood lickers’ are ‘licking’ the very life blood from the Body of Christ.
We must turn our focus from Jehovah Jireh to Jehovah Nissi in this day. His banner over me must become victory over evil, not dance with evil.
If we are to win this war of good vs evil, we must have all parts of the Body of Christ working in harmony. Let the warriors, some that the church will not like, understand or embrace in any measure, rise to the occasion. Let us not leave the First Responders, the Health Care warriors fight alone. Let us find ways to engage and support. May the Intercessors be faithful to pray for victory in the war, not self-preservation. Our plea is for the Priesthood to focus more on the battlefield, and less on the temple.
On a personal note, on Saturday, March 21, 2020, there was a ‘rough’ gang of believers holding service on the side of Highway 11 in Pumpkintown, SC (yep, I got it right). On my way, at a road construction stop, I rode up and engaged six bikers in conversation. They ended up accepting my invitation to visit this rough gang of believers singing songs from the 60’s with lyrics that brought glory to the Lord. After we had prayer over them and their bikes, Biker Blessing, I ended up riding close to forty miles with them. At an ‘ice cream stop’ I was able to share with them hope from the actions of Mission M25. There are people that we must engage during this time of uncertainty and fear. Wisdom, yep, washed my hands, fear, no, engaged the hurting and confused.
