Four Principles of Victory | Part 1

Do your children see the victory of Christ today? Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring profound truth in Egypt and led them through the wilderness toward Canaan. What does this story reveal about our victory in Christ?

If you have your Bible, turn now to Exodus chapter 17 will begin in verse 8 as Adrian Rogers reveals four principles of victory. I want to tell you something about a church member that I've had difficulty with. As a matter of fact, I've had difficulty with this church member for a number of years. Really, he's given me a lot of trouble and he has disappointed me many, many times. And I have had to just expend a lot of energy with this particular church member who really, frankly, though we are a wonderful congregation, this member has given me much, much sorrow and heartache at times. Maybe I ought to tell you his name. I think I will.

Adrian Rogers. You know, my biggest enemy is my own self. Have you found that true? We have an enemy inside the fort called self. Sometimes the Bible calls that the old man. Sometimes the Bible calls that the flesh. But we're all in a battle. You see, we have three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now, we're going to be talking about that center enemy, the flesh. And when I'm talking about the flesh, I'm not talking about your material body. I'm not talking about your skin and bones. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God.

It is crafted of God and it is to be wholly dedicated to him. But when I'm talking about the flesh, I'm talking about that lower part of our nature that we inherited from our parents who got it from Adam. It is a disposition against the things of God. The Bible tells us in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 17, the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.

And these two are contrary one to the other so that she cannot do the things that she would. Now, what does that have to do with the 17th chapter of Exodus? Well, let me tell you a secret to understanding the Bible. Now, while the Old Testament is history, it is more than history.

Are you listening? It is devotional literature. I'm talking about the Old Testament and I'm talking about the history of the Old Testament. And I'm talking particularly about the coming of the Jewish nation out of Egypt through the wilderness and into Canaan. The Bible tells us in I Corinthians chapter 10 that all of these things happened to them. I Corinthians 10 verse 11, all of these things happened to them, for examples to us.

Now, you're going to learn a lesson today about the life of conquest. Remember that at one time the Jewish people were in Egypt and they were slaves. Now, Egypt represents the world, therefore, that we've been called out of. But God called them out of Egypt. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh represents the devil. Then they were headed toward Canaan, a land of oil and wine and corn and figs and pomegranates, milk and honey, rivers and trees and valleys and hills, brass and iron. They were called into Canaan. What does Canaan represent?

Not heaven someday. Canaan in the Bible, don't miss this. Canaan represents victory. Canaan represents the Spirit-filled life, not in the sweet by and by, but in the nasty now and now where we can have victory day by day. So, as Christians, we have come out of Egypt. We're coming through a wilderness, but we're headed toward Canaan and we ought to already be there, so Canaan represents the Spirit-filled life. Egypt, the world, Pharaoh, the devil, Canaan, the victorious life, but we're going to meet somebody now in just a moment who represents the flesh.

That member I've been having such difficulty with, and I know that if you're saved, you've been having the same difficulty. Now, with that in mind, begin in verse 8. Then came Amalek. Amalek represents the flesh. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out, men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed.

And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. I can imagine Dan Rather being there. Dan Rather is saying, there's a battle.

Our man on the field is reporting something. Let me get it here in my, oh yes, yes. He says there's an old man, some old man that has a rod in his hand. And as the old man holds up his hand, something is happening down here in the valley, ladies and gentlemen. It seems that when the old man holds up his hands, that Joshua's army is victorious. But when the old man's hands go down, the armies of Amalek are victorious.

It's a strange thing that we report today. Alright, now notice. Verse 12, But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat thereon, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, that is, held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun, and Joshua discomfited Amalek.

That's just a fancy way of saying he whooped him. Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Now I want to talk to you about four principles of victory, and I want to talk to you about some Canaan conquest. Now you might right now say, well, I've come out of Egypt, but I surely haven't gone into Canaan.

I have been dumped in the desert. Well, let me tell you how you can change your life sincerely now, sincerely from the monotonous to the momentous, from failure to victory, and before you get to heaven, you can bring heaven to earth. I am talking to you about absolute truth, truth that the Bible teaches and that I have experienced in my own life.

There are four things. Number one, you need to receive a gracious provision, and that provision is salvation. Now go back, if you will, to the first verse of this chapter. And all the congregation of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched, that is, they set up a tent in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, they scolded him and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me?

Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured against Moses and said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, our cattle with thirst? Friend, I've been there to this place. You talk about a barren, desolate place.

It is indeed a barren and a desolate and a dry place. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, what shall I do unto this people? They'd be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Now Moses had a rod that was a miraculous rod.

We're going to say more about it later on. Behold, I will stand before thee upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of God.

I want you to get the picture. They're out there in the barren land. They're dying of thirst. And Moses says, God, what shall I do? God says, you take the elders of Israel, you take a rod, and you go to this rock, and you with that rod, you smite that rock. And when you do, water will come from the rock. Did you ever try to get water from a rock?

Water will come from that rock. Now what is all of this about? Well, I'm not being fanciful when I tell you this is a glorious illustration, though it literally happened. It's a glorious illustration of our salvation.

Put in your margin. I Corinthians 10 and verse 4. Now remember I told you in I Corinthians 10, verse 11, the Bible says all these things happen for examples, remember?

All these things happen for examples. I Corinthians 10, verse 4, the Bible says, And they did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. That rock pictures the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages smitten for us.

Isaiah 53, verse 4 says, And we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God. You see, Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was smitten for us, and because Jesus was smitten for us, out of his riven side came forth water. And that water represents the Holy Spirit, which is the water of life.

And you and I have, because the rock was smitten so long ago when Jesus hung in agony and blood upon that cross, and he died, our rock died for us. Out of his side has come that refreshment, that Holy Spirit that is in me right now, in you right now. Thank God for the blessed, precious Holy Spirit.

I want to ask you a question, my friend. If you're here today and you've never received Jesus, are you thirsty? Do you know that there's something missing in your life? It's not something, it is someone. What you're thirsting for is Jesus. I can tell you that. You'll never be satisfied, you'll never feel contentment until you know the Lord Jesus Christ. I had an evangelist friend of mine who was on an airplane one time, Brother Mike, and, you know, it just aggravates me when these stewardesses come along and try to sell us booze on those airplanes.

But that's part of their job. And this gal came to my friend Mike and said, sir, would you like a drink? He said, no, ma'am. He said, I had a drink about 20 years ago that satisfied me completely. She said, you did.

Must have been some kind of drink. He said, it was. She said, tell me about it. He said, you serve everybody else. Come and I'll tell you about it. She served everybody that booze, then came, buckled herself in alongside this Brother Mike and said, tell me about it.

And friend, he did. He told her about that drink, that rock of ages, that out of his sight has come forth that water of life. And Jesus said, if you're thirsty, come to me and drink. I wonder, are you thirsty today? Are you thirsty? You say, God knows I'm empty.

I didn't ask you that. My car's been empty many times. It's never once been thirsty. Are you thirsty? Do you want more?

Thank God for the smitten rock. So the first thing, if you want to live a life of victory, number one, you must receive a gracious provision, which is salvation. Number two, you must realize a grand purpose. Because being saved is wonderful, but God has more, much more for you. You see, God's plan for his people was not merely that they come out of Egypt and go into the wilderness of Sinai. God's plan for his people was that they go into the land of Canaan. I'm not talking about pie in the sky.

I'm talking about victory right now. God brought them out that he might bring them in. Now, you're in Exodus chapter 17. Turn to Exodus chapter 13.

Just go back just a couple of chapters and look with me in verse 3. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which he came out from Egypt. Just underscore that phrase. He came out from Egypt.

Underscore that. Out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out, underscore that, from this place. There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month of Abib, and it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into, underscore that now, bring thee into. Notice he brought you out that he might bring you in, bring you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which he swear unto thy fathers to give thee, now watch it, a land flowing with milk and honey that thou shall keep this service in this month. Seven days shall thou eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters, and thou shalt show thy son in that day, notice, in that day saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. Now what's all this saying?

God says, Look, I brought you out that I might bring you in. Now God says, When you get into the land, notice, the land flowing with milk and honey, then I want you to celebrate. Then I want you to keep the feast of the Passover. I want you to keep the feast of unleavened bread. I want you to celebrate, and when you celebrate the feast, your son's going to come to you and your son's going to say, Dad, what does all this mean? And you can tell your son, Son, we are celebrating what God did for us when God brought us out of Egypt and God brought us into this land.

Now I want to ask you a question. Why is it that the devil is getting the kids of the best families in our churches today? I'm talking about people who sing in the choir, people who take up the offering, people who teach Sunday school, people who love God, people who are saved, people who are tiring, people who live clean lives, and yet their kids many times are into drugs, won't come to church, running with the wrong crowd, maybe sleeping around. How does that happen? Well, I think it's a complicated thing and we can't put everybody in one category.

But I'll tell you one reason that a lot of it happens is this, and you listen to me, they've never gone into caning. Now you know what they had in the wilderness to eat? Do you know what they ate in the wilderness? Manna. Do you know how long they ate it?

Forty years. Now, manna was not meant to satisfy them. It was only meant to sustain them until they got into the land that flowed with milk and honey, oil and corn and figs and pomegranates.

It was only meant as a temporary feast, a temporary food. They were only to spend a little time in the wilderness. They were to come out of Egypt and they were to go into Canaan. But because of their unbelief, they're going around and around and around and around in the desert not believing God. They've come out of Egypt, but they've never gone into Canaan. They're in the wilderness. Now, in that time, 40 years, there were children born at that time.

Let's imagine a kid, he's 14 years of age. He's born in the wilderness. His parents have come out of Egypt, but he's a wilderness boy. He never says, mama, what's for breakfast? He knows what's for breakfast.

Manna. He never says, mama, what's for lunch? He knows what's for lunch. Manna. He never says, mama, what's for supper? He knows what's for supper. Manna. He doesn't say, mama, what are we going to have tomorrow?

He knows what we're going to have tomorrow. Manna. Manna. Manna. Manna. Manna in the evening. Manna in the supper time. Manna all the time. Just manna, manna, manna.

That's all the kid gets. Now, suppose they decide they're going to celebrate there in the wilderness. Now, remember God said in this passage, you celebrate in the land, not in the wilderness. You don't have a lot to celebrate in the wilderness.

Now, suppose there they are. The father's sitting on a hot rock, the son's sitting on a cactus, and the father says, we're going to have the feast of Passover. He said, well, dad, what are we doing?

He said, we're celebrating, son. Now, remember, this kid has heard sermons about Canaan. That's all he's heard, just sermons about Canaan. He's never seen Canaan.

He might have heard Pastor Rogers preach about Canaan, but he's not seen Canaan. His parents are not living in Canaan. His parents are not living the victorious, Spirit-filled life. They're not living in victory. Oh, his parents are saved.

They've come out of Egypt, but they've never gone into Canaan, and they say, now, son, we're celebrating. He looks around. He said, we're what?

A rattlesnake goes by. The sun is broiling. Tumbleweed is coming along. He said, what are we doing, dad? Oh, son, we're celebrating what God has done for us.

He said, dad, don't you think it's about time we got back to Egypt, I mean, where there was fish and garlics and leeks and melons and fun? All we're doing out here is dumped in the desert. I'm going to tell you, that's why the devil's getting a lot of our kids, of good people.

They have come out, but they've never gone in. They have never learned how to live in victory before their children, and the children know that their parents somehow are sincere, but they feel like they have just simply missed it. Now, friend, God brought us out that God might bring us in, and if you have been one of those simply dumped in the desert, you have to understand, not only must you receive a gracious provision, salvation, but you must realize a grand purpose, which is victory that God has for you. Now, here's the third thing. You must respect a grievous problem.

There is a grievous problem, and what is that problem? Look, if you will, again, and go back to our text now in Exodus 17, and look, if you will, in verse 8. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel. What is Amalek?

Who is Amalek? Amalek was a king, but he was the grandson of Esau. And who was Esau? Well, Esau, you remember, was the man who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.

I don't have time to get into it, but Esau was a profane man. Esau sold his spiritual things for a bowl of stew, and he was more interested in the present than the future, the material than the eternal, the things of the flesh, not the things of the spirit, and therefore the Bible calls Esau in Hebrews chapter 12 a profane person who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. And the Bible teaches in Malachi that God has a perpetual warfare declared upon Esau. Listen to this scripture, Malachi 1 verses 1 through 4. The burden of the Lord to Israel by Malachi, I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say, Wherein hast thou lovedest? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord?

Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call them the border of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever. Now what is God talking about? God here is not talking about a little baby Esau when he says, I hate Esau. He's talking about a whole nation. He's talking about the Edomites, and he's not just talking about people in physical bodies. He's talking about a principle, and that principle is the flesh.

Now it gets a little complicated here, so pay attention. Amalek is the grandson of Esau. He is a part of that category of persons that God says, I have a perpetual war with. What does Amalek represent? Amalek represents what all of us have in us, and it is the flesh. That's your enemy. Remember I said I had a church, remember, I have a lot of difficulty with?

Friend, you, there's an Amalek in you. He is the grandson of Esau, and you have this put down in your Bibles, Romans chapter 8 verses 6 and 7, to be carnally minded. That word carnally means fleshly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. And then Galatians 5 verse 17, the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.

There is that principle that will come against you, the flesh. Coming up tomorrow, we'll hear part two of this important message. Maybe today you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus. We'd love to offer you an insightful resource on our website, our Discover Jesus page. You'll find answers there you may need about your faith.

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