Sermon Tone Analysis

*/Prayer Warriors/* Exodus 17:8-16 NV 7~/1~/01 am

*OS:* *A* Iwo Jima – Small Island captured by the Marines in February, March of 1945.

The photo of the flag raising on Mr. Suribachi is considered the best picture of WWII.

Joe Rosenthal won a Pulitzer prize in 1945 for this picture.

The flag here represents victory for America.

American soldiers gave their lives for this flag, and the country it represents.

Yet, quite opposite in our text this morning it is the flag, or banner, that wins the victory.

*B*

EXODUS 17:8-16 (*Text is C, D, and E*)

God’s people are victorious, only because God, having been asked, provides the victory.

This truth has not changed!

!

I.       F God’s people are still at war today!

A.     Our battles today are not fought with physical weapons of war, but rather on our knees.

B.     Just as prayer was essential for the Israelite army, to be a prayer warrior is essential today.

C.     *G *Ephesians 612/For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms./

1.

If you find yourself battling against another person, then you’re fighting with the wrong enemy.

2.      When there are problems in the home, prayer is the place to begin working it out.

To focus on each other first is a sure defeat.

3.      What if in 1945 we had decided to go up to Canada and fight with the Canadian people?

D.     Spiritual warfare is a biblical reality, and prayer is our offensive in this war.

1.      *~**Matthew 16 /18 //And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it./

!

II.

H Our Greatest difficulties revolve around things we can’t control.

A.     We pray when we have children, but I have a hunch that a parent’s prayer becomes much more intense when those children become teenagers.

1.      Suddenly you find yourself sitting on the hill overlooking the life of your child who now is becoming more and more independent.

Prayer is the only alternative.

!

III.

This morning I hope you make the decision to become a prayer warrior as God intended you to be.

A.     I want to point out a few things from our text that you can be assured of when you live by prayer.

B.     I consider these to be simple absolute truths from God’s Word.

!

I.        I Warfare is inevitable as God’s people.

A.     “Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

1.      *~**1 Peter 4:8, /“Be self-controlled and alert.

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”/

2.      Satan wants to destroy your life, your family, this church…Satan is in the destruction business.

3.      Pain in the world (murder, hatred, wars, rape, sexual abuse, and on and on) that’s what Satan wants to bring to your life.

He brings it with promises of pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment.

He is a liar, and the father of lies!

4.      *J* What does the devil look like?

(Siding with the Devil) Devil costume…..into the church… “You know I’ve been on your side all along.”

B.     In our text God’s people are fighting a battle and the lives of their soldiers are at stake, as well as, the well-being of their wives and children.

C.     In our battle, the stakes are high – our souls as well as our children’s.

Also all who will be reached…

1.

I assure you that Satan is going to be poking around NV!

*TS]* So war has been declared.

How do we battle?

!

II.

K Prayer and Work are the primary weapons of this battle.

A.     *~**2 Corinthians 10 /3 //For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds./

B.     We must pray beneath the surface, beyond the problem, to the source as Jesus did with Peter in Matthew 16.

1.      Peter rebuked Jesus for speaking of His death in Jerusalem.

2.      Jesus didn’t appeal to logic, or Peter’s understanding of Scripture.

3.      “Get behind Me Satan!”

C.     Joshua = work, Moses = Prayer

1.

I would imagine there is some praying going on down on the battle field as well.

2.      Pray and work will always be the formula for overcoming whatever we face as individuals or as a church.

D.     Sometimes we need help to pray as Moses did.

1.

We are always able to be bold when we pray for someone else.

2.      As we consider examples in scripture of prayer you will notice the boldness in those praying for others.

*TS]* Before we ever step on to the battle-field of preaching, teaching, having authentic fellowship, or reaching out to the lost, the outcome has already been determined on the battlefield of prayer.

*L* In Exodus 17 the outcome was not determined in the valley with Joshua, but on the Mountain with Moses.

!

III.

M God’s people will be victorious.

A.     Sometimes we may feel as if we are defeated, but God can see the entire picture.

1.      Victory always follows prayer and work for God’s people.

2.      *~**1 John 53 /This is love for God: to obey his commands.

And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith./

B.      *~**Romans 831 /What, then, shall we say in response to this?

If God is for us, who can be against us?/

C.     *N-O* Psalm 37:1-10

 

*P* Are you on the Battlefield?