Cornerstone Church,
What if I told you that the main thing that God wants from you is trust? God is not after our abilities and talents, as Creator, He has it all. He is not after our attention, all the angels in heaven worship at His feet. He is not after our money, or time, or anything we can imagine. The main thing that God wants from you is trust.
Exodus 17:8-16 (NKJV) 8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 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." 10 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. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and 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; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
I cannot imagine the vulnerability that Israel must have felt as they wandered through the desert. Egypt and Pharaoh are a recent memory, but now there are new threats nipping at their heels. The Amalekites are attacking the weak and vulnerable who are unable to keep up. If Pharaoh was a lion, the Amalekites were hyenas. Multiple, unpredictable, random. God’s plan for Developing and Deepening Israel’s Dependence was to include the new threats of Amalek.
The first step in deepening dependence required that Moses take a back seat to the battle. Moses was quick tempered and on a number of occasions we see him ready to jump into the fight. This time he would have to step back and let Joshua take the lead.
Secondly, Moses would bear the standard of Israel. Not a flag, not a sword, but a cane. The same staff that God told Moses to throw down at the Burning Bush would be lifted up to God. Moses’ rod had become God’s rod. It turned into a serpent and swallowed the serpents of Pharaoh. It had parted the Red Sea. It struck the rock and water came forth. Yet this was no magic wand. It was not a club or a weapon. It was an old man’s cane. The kind you lean on for support. God would have Moses lift this cane to the sky as a symbol of Israel’s complete and utter dependence on God.
Israel was going to have to develop dependence on God. So God allowed Amalek to attack. God allowed the rookie leader Joshua to take them into battle. God allowed them to come to embrace the symbol of their dependence, the rod of God.
Prayer is declared dependence on God. Prayer is not power over God, but humbly asking God to fight on our behalf. Until we deepen our dependence on God, we may never really experience His power and might over the battles of our lives. Let’s be people of prayer. To lift high the banner of our dependence. For when we are weak, then we are strong.
- Pastor Joel Johns
What if I told you that the main thing that God wants from you is trust? God is not after our abilities and talents, as Creator, He has it all. He is not after our attention, all the angels in heaven worship at His feet. He is not after our money, or time, or anything we can imagine. The main thing that God wants from you is trust.
Exodus 17:8-16 (NKJV) 8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 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." 10 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. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and 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; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
I cannot imagine the vulnerability that Israel must have felt as they wandered through the desert. Egypt and Pharaoh are a recent memory, but now there are new threats nipping at their heels. The Amalekites are attacking the weak and vulnerable who are unable to keep up. If Pharaoh was a lion, the Amalekites were hyenas. Multiple, unpredictable, random. God’s plan for Developing and Deepening Israel’s Dependence was to include the new threats of Amalek.
The first step in deepening dependence required that Moses take a back seat to the battle. Moses was quick tempered and on a number of occasions we see him ready to jump into the fight. This time he would have to step back and let Joshua take the lead.
Secondly, Moses would bear the standard of Israel. Not a flag, not a sword, but a cane. The same staff that God told Moses to throw down at the Burning Bush would be lifted up to God. Moses’ rod had become God’s rod. It turned into a serpent and swallowed the serpents of Pharaoh. It had parted the Red Sea. It struck the rock and water came forth. Yet this was no magic wand. It was not a club or a weapon. It was an old man’s cane. The kind you lean on for support. God would have Moses lift this cane to the sky as a symbol of Israel’s complete and utter dependence on God.
Israel was going to have to develop dependence on God. So God allowed Amalek to attack. God allowed the rookie leader Joshua to take them into battle. God allowed them to come to embrace the symbol of their dependence, the rod of God.
Prayer is declared dependence on God. Prayer is not power over God, but humbly asking God to fight on our behalf. Until we deepen our dependence on God, we may never really experience His power and might over the battles of our lives. Let’s be people of prayer. To lift high the banner of our dependence. For when we are weak, then we are strong.
- Pastor Joel Johns
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