Ed Loney: Amen, if you have your Bibles, I'd like to invite you to go to Exodus chapter 17.

Exodus chapter 17 for the reading of the word of God this evening. Has been my privilege to be here with you all these last couple of days. So mentioned was excited about the invitation, was looking forward to spending some time with you.

And I enjoy what I'm seeing, enjoy what I'm hearing. And I'm privileged to have shared the pulpit with so many great men of God. Over these last couple of days.

And I'm thankful to see that so many young people are active, involved, engaged. Y'all are not sitting off to the side wondering when you're going to jump in. Y'all are just jumping in all the way.

And I'm thankful for all those who had any type of involvement in organizing this and scheduling things and the games and all of that. Let's just give them a hand and just tell them thank you.

Thank you. And I also want to say I'm thankful for the type of games that they're playing. I go to a lot of youth meetings and sometimes they only play nasty games.

Now, y'all play some dangerous games, but I'll take the dangerous games over the nasty games any day. All right. Now, y'all kind of pushed the limit with the burping competition.

That was kind of a stretch. But I've been I've been to some camps. Anybody ever seen the game where they blend the Happy Meal?

Have you all seen that? They take a Happy Meal, burgers, fries, drink, they blended. And the first person to finish drinking it wins.

It's terrible. I'm going to tell you the worst one that I've seen, one of the worst ones I've seen.

They had some boys come up on the platform. They had about four Dr. Peppers there.

The boys had to take their socks off, put it over top of the Dr. Pepper. And they were told to drink the Dr. Pepper through their sock. Now, hold on.

It gets worse than that.

Before they went to take a drink, the guy said, now switch with the person next to you.

It's terrible. It's terrible. Now, I am not one that supports a rebellious teenager.

But if someone tells you to drink a Dr. Pepper through another boy's fungus sock, You have my full support in your rebellion.

And look, this is what I also know. It's always one crazy boy that'll do it with no problem.

So I appreciate the fun and the games and everything that's been involved in it. But we didn't come here for all the fun and the games. We came here so that you all can have a moment where you sense that God is speaking to your heart.

Some of you, these last couple of days, I hope that you've had an encounter with God and that you've had a life changing moment. When I come around and I do things like this. Last week I was in New Mexico.

This week I'm here. Next week I'm in Houston. The week after that, I'll be back in Texas somewhere else.

I want to tell you, we're not doing things like this because we don't have anything else to do. I'm telling you, to be honest with you, many of us stopped doing something else so we could come and do this. And the reason we do it is because we still believe that God is speaking to young people.

I got saved at the age of six. I knew God was calling me to preach when I was 12 years old. And I surrendered to that at about 16 years old.

Every major decision I've made in my life, I've made it as a young person. Now, you cannot make one decision at a youth conference and say, oh, I'm good for the rest of my life. You've got to submit to the Lord every single day.

But what happens at meetings like this is you have those key moments where God deals with you and God speaks to you. And that's why we're doing things like this this week. And I trust that something has happened in your heart this week that is life changing.

We're going to be in Exodus chapter 17. Exodus chapter 17. I'm going to begin reading in verse number eight.

You there, would you say amen? Amen. Yeah, somebody said, wait on me.

Somebody was in the other session. All right. Verse number eight, the Bible says, then came Amalek and fought with Israel and 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 my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek.

And Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass when Moses held up his hands that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat there on and Aaron and Hur stayed 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 and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi. For he said, because the Lord have sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. This evening, if I'm going to be honest with you, I'm going to preach a message that would be unusual for me to preach at the close of a youth conference.

But I believe it's something that God has laid upon my heart to share with you this evening. This evening, this message is not for teenagers. It's not a teen message.

This message is for anyone that has any desire to be involved in the work of the Lord. Oftentimes in my travel, I'm asked this question. Are you a youth speaker?

And my answer is the same. No, I'm not a youth speaker. I aim to be a Bible preacher because I believe that the Bible, it works for every age group.

So this evening, I'm not preaching a youth message. I'm preaching a Bible message that I believe works for you. And I believe that if you take heed to this message, the Lord will use you in a special way.

The title of the message is going to be this, Supporting the Work of God.

Supporting the Work of God. Let's go to Lord in prayer and then we'll jump into this text this evening. Father, we thank you for your word.

God, we know that your word, it has power in itself. God, you told it is quick, it is powerful, it is sharper than any two-edged sword. And God, I have no greater desire this evening than just to stand and preach your word.

God, I have no pressure to put on a show or to entertain. God, the only pressure that I have is to rightly divide the word of truth. And God, I pray that your spirit would be with me as I preach this evening.

God, I pray that you help me. God, not just to stand in my own power, but God, I need the help of your power, your Holy Spirit. God, I need you to work through me in a way that only you can.

God, I pray that you help me to be sensitive to your spirit. God, you know that I have some notes and some things prepared, but God, I don't want to be controlled by notes. I want to be controlled by you.

So God, just help me in the moment of my preaching. God, speak through me. Be with these young people.

Speak to their hearts in a way that only you can. God, I pray that we'll have some young people that will leave here this evening with the commitment that they are going to be supporters in the work of God. Actually, now that you keep your hand upon us and we give you all the praise and the honor for it.

In your name, Jesus, we do pray. Amen. When we look into our Bibles, especially in the Old Testament, we see clearly that the children of Israel are God's chosen people.

Oftentimes, many people wonder, why did God choose the nation of Israel? Well, the Bible tells us two reasons. One, the Bible says that he loved them.

And then the Bible says that he that they were the least of the nations. So the Israel Israel wasn't chosen because they were something great or because they were something special. They were chosen because God wanted to use them to reveal His greatness to lost nations.

So, for example, when Israel went to war, they were such a small nation. No one can say, oh, wow, they have a great army or oh, wow, they're so strong. The only thing that they could say is that they have a great God.

So when we look throughout the Old Testament, we see clearly that the children of Israel, they are God's chosen people. So we see that God chose them. But in the Old Testament, we also see that they did not always choose God.

When you read throughout your Bibles, you'll see this phrase come across often. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. So they oftentimes rejected God and God would allow them to go into bondage or into captivity to get their attention back on him.

But when we consider the children of Israel going into bondage or captivity to the Egyptians, sometimes I believe we forget that they came into the land on good terms. When they came into the land, if many of you remember the story, Joseph found favor with the king. And because Joseph found favor with the king, all of the children of Israel were able to come over into Egypt on good terms.

But in Exodus chapter one in verse number eight, the Bible tells us that there arose a new king which knew not Joseph. Look now, this was a major transition in the history of the nation of Israel. They went from being welcomed into the land to being slaves in the land.

They went from from being welcome in the land to being forced to build Pharaoh's treasured cities. The Bible teaches shows us that they lost their favor with man. But listen to me, young people.

You may go through a season in life where you lose favor with man, But never lose your favor with God. And let me tell you, having favor with God is more valuable than having favor with the man. So even though they lost their favor with God, they still maintain their favor with man.

And God, through his providence, would be would raise up this man by the name of Moses to deliver his people out of bondage and out of persecution. Many of you remember the story early in Exodus. Moses, he sees that that Egyptian persecuting one of the children of Israel and Moses intervened.

And when he intervened, he ended up killing that man. So Moses would go from being known as 40 years as the prince of Egypt to then he's 40 years in the wilderness or in the desert. And around Exodus chapter three, while he's in that desert, that story of that burning bush, Moses walking through the desert and he sees the burning bush.

And the Bible says the bush is burning, but it's not consumed. And in other words, it would be like me taking this piece of paper this evening and I set it on fire right in front of you and the paper is never consumed. Moses said, I must turn aside and behold the sight.

Get this now. First of all, the bush is burning and it's not burnt. And then the bush starts talking.

Look, the bush says, Moses, get this now. It doesn't say, hey, man. It doesn't say, excuse me, sir.

It doesn't say, hey, guy. It says Moses. So I'm looking at a bush that's burning.

The bush is talking. And not only is the bush talking, somehow this bush knows my name.

Moses said, I have to turn aside and behold this sight. You know what is happening here? Moses is having his wow moment.

Moses is having his moment where God is going to impress him. Listen to me, young people. All of you at some point in time in your life, you need to have your wow moment.

To where you see something in God, you see something in the work of the Lord that just wows you and impresses you. Let me tell you, the God that we serve, he is an impressive God. And there are some of you sitting here right now.

You have not been impressed by God yet. And it's not because God is not impressive. You just haven't turned aside long enough to take a look at him.

Moses said, I must turn aside and behold this sight. So now we know that Moses is not hallucinating. It is God that is speaking to Moses through the bush.

God would say things like this. I have seen the affliction of my people. I have heard their cries.

I know their sorrows and I am come down to deliver them out. Look, aren't you thankful that we serve a living God and not a dead God? Look, God said, Moses, I see, I hear, I know, and I have the ability to come down and do something about what I see, hear and know.

Moses, he initially refused to go when God told him, I want you to go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to let my people go. God, Moses initially refused to go. But God, through a series of events, began to get Moses' attention.

You know all the stories. Moses is holding that rod. He turns it down and it turns into a serpent.

Moses did something that I would never do. He picks the serpent up and it turns back into a rod. How many of you like snakes?

All the crazy people look at them. Crazy, crazy, crazy all over. Look, not too long ago, we had a snake at our house and it was squeezing through the siding of our garage.

And let me tell you, I don't play. My name is Brother Ed, not Moses. I don't play around with snakes.

I don't. Some people look and say, oh, that's a good snake. The only good snake is a dead snake.

All right. And while it's squeezing now, my wife is standing there, fellas. So I don't want my wife to know I'm scared of it.

But to be honest, I'm scared of it. And my wife looks at me, says, are you going to grab it?

And in my mind, I'm thinking, girl, you crazy. But I played it off real smooth. I said, no, it ain't bothering nobody.

So Moses picks the snake up and it turns back into a rod. Moses takes his hand, puts it in his bosom, takes it out in his leprosy, puts his hand back in, takes it out again. The leprosy is gone.

God is taking Moses through a serious series of events. And this is what Moses is learning. Moses is not you that's going to do the job.

It's God that's going to do the job through you. Young people, God is not just looking at your ability. God is looking at your availability.

So Moses had to learn that it was not him. It was God that was going to work through him. So Moses, he gives in.

He says, OK, God, I'll go. And God says, oh, yeah, Moses, by the way, Pharaoh's not going to listen to you. I would have been like, God, that's what I've been saying this whole time.

Said God why is he not going to listen. He says because I'm going to harden his heart. Look 11 times in the word of God the Bible says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

And 7 of the 11 the Bible tells us that it was God that hardened his heart. Now why is God hardening the heart of Pharaoh. Listen to me now.

God was not trying to sneak the children of Israel out of Egypt. God wasn't waiting until all of the Egyptians went to sleep to sneak his people out the back door of Egypt.

No, no, no. God wanted all of Egypt to know that I am the one true God and your gods are false. So God would send those plagues to Egypt and each one of the plagues that came to Egypt was a destruction of one of the gods that they served.

So, for example, you say you say, OK, you love the God of the now. Well, I'm going to turn your water into blood. You love the frog goddess where here comes the frogs.

You love the earth God where here comes the lice. You love the hectic God or the fly God, where he comes the flies. Look now, every plague that came was a destruction of one of the gods that they served.

Look, God is letting Israel know that I'm the one true God. He's letting Egypt know that your gods are false. Listen to me now.

You better be very careful of what or who you put in the place of God. You could be putting it in opposition to God. Now, we live in America.

We don't see a whole lot of people bowing down and worshiping idols. But listen to me now. A God in your life God in my life can be a good thing that becomes a bad thing because it took the place of the best thing.

Look, nothing in our life deserves to have the priority or the preeminence but God. So God is sending those plagues and he's destroying their false gods. By the time we get to Exodus chapter number 17, it got so bad in Egypt that the Bible tells us that there was in one household that did not have a death in the home.

Pharaoh himself would look at the children of Israel and and serve the Lord. When we arrive at Exodus chapter 17, we have the scene of a battlefield. Amalek comes and launches a sneak attack on Israel.

Moses tells Joshua to go down in the valley and start fighting with Amalek. And he says, I'm going to go up to the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. And the Bible tells us that when Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed.

And when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed. The Bible tells us that his hands got heavy, but I love what these two men did, Aaron and Hur. They came beside Moses and the Bible says they held up his hands until the going down of the sun.

Young people, let me tell you, when I when I read this text, I can't help but think how much we need that today.

We desperately need a generation of young people who will come alongside the work of God and add some support to something that God is doing. Look, we're not talking about man worship. All right.

We're not talking about lifting up a man. We're talking about lifting up God, lifting up the work of the Lord. We need some of you to make a commitment that you're going to sign up.

You're going to enlist to be in God's army and support the work of God. In Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus said all his disciples down and he asked this question. Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?

They said some say Jeremiah or some say Elias or some say John the Baptist or one of the prophets. Jesus says, well, who do you say that I am? And it was Peter that spoke up and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.

Jesus looks at Peter and says, you got it right, Peter. Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Now, some people take that verse way out of context and they say, you see there, the church was founded upon Peter.

Listen to me now. The church was not founded upon Peter. The church was founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

What's the context of the chapter? Who do men say that I, the son of man, am thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. You got it right, Peter.

Upon this rock, Peter, not upon you, but upon the rock of ages, the chief cornerstone, I will build my church. Look, Peter's name literally means pebble or little stone.

He said, Peter, you're a pebble or a little stone. Upon this rock, I'll build my church. Look, Jesus already said in Matthew chapter seven that a wise man builds his house upon the what?

Upon the rock. Look, Peter, you might deny me in a few chapters. I'm not building my church on you.

I need to build my church on something a little bit more sure than that. And who is more sure than the Lord Jesus Christ? And then he goes on to say, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

Now, I have to ask a question when I get there. If Jesus promised us that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church. Listen to me now.

Why are so many churches dying?

If Jesus promised us that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church then why are so many churches closing if Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church then why are so many churches look now even though their doors are open when you walk in they're dead listen to me young people a church cannot die from Satan's demise but a church can die from self-destruction.

Look, a church does not die from the outside in. A church dies from the inside out. Look, a church does not explode.

A church implodes. A church dies when a generation that comes behind us says, I'm no longer supporting. I'm no longer involved.

I'm no longer giving. I'm no longer going. I'm no longer serving.

And I'm getting desperate about this young people because we need a generation of young people that will step up, they'll stand up, they'll serve and say, I will support the work of God. So my question to you this evening is very simple. Will you be a supporter?

Will you be a supporter of the work of God? Some of you young men are sitting here right now and you know that God is calling you to preach and you're fighting it.

Some of you are sitting here right now and you know that God wants you on the mission field and you're fighting it. Some of you know that God wants you in some form a full time Christian service. Some of you know that God wants you to lay some things aside and go out and you're fighting.

And listen, now, we need all hands on deck. We need more supporters in the work of God. So I want to walk through this chapter and see how these individuals got to the point where they could be a supporter in the work of God.

I want you to notice what we first said. There was a hindrance in the congregation.

There was a hindrance in the congregation. Look at verse number one. It says, and all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim.

And there was no water for the people to drink. Look at verse two. Wherefore, the people did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink.

And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore, do you tempt the Lord? Look, isn't it sad how quickly we forget God?

Look, the Bible tells us that God gave them manna.

God led them in the wilderness. God is leading them with the cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. God is taking care of them every step of the way.

One verse even says that their shoes never even wore out. I used to wonder, did their feet stop growing or did their shoes start growing?

I don't know, but one thing I do know is God was taking care of his children every step of the way. And then we get here to verse number two. And the children of Israel are angry because they're thirsty.

Look at what they're doing. They're falsely evaluating. They're falsely evaluating.

Moses says in verse number two, wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

Let me ask you a question. Who led the children of Israel out of Egypt? Was it Moses or was it God?

Who gave them the manna? Was it Moses or was it God? Who led them with the cloud by day and a fire by night?

Was it Moses or was it God? But we get to chapter 17 and who were they angry at? Moses.

They're falsely evaluating. I want you all to hear me very well. You might not need it now, but keep the notes.

You will not find any church, any ministry, any college that does not have problems.

When the problem comes, you better evaluate it properly. Look, if you find a church that has no problems, don't join it. You're going to be the first problem.

So what do we do when an issue arrives, when a problem arrives? Look now, we have to evaluate it properly. Look, never go and address a problem this way until you've addressed it this way.

Never go and address a problem this way. Say, I got an issue with somebody in the youth group. I'm going to go talk to them.

Have you talked to God first? Look, before you address it with man, just with God. One thing I've learned even in my own life, there are some issues by the time I finish addressing it with God, I don't even have to go and address it with a man.

God fixes it. What do we what do we learn in Genesis chapter number four? Cain and Abel, two brothers bring an offering to God.

Abel's offering is accepted. Cain's offering is rejected. Cain gets angry at Abel and goes over and kills his own brother.

Who rejected the offering? Was it God or was it Abel? It was God that rejected offering, but he took it out on Abel.

Look, you better be very careful how you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ. You may be showing how you would treat God if you could get to him. They're falsely evaluating.

Not only are they falsely evaluating, they're foolishly exaggerating. Foolishly exaggerating. Now, this may be my weird personality.

Looking at verse number three, the Bible says, and the people thirsted there for water and the people murmured against Moses, Moses and said, wherefore is this that thou has brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

Y'all catch that. Verse number two, they're angry because they're thirsty. By the time we get to verse number three, this is what they're saying.

Moses is trying to kill us. They don't stop there. Moses is trying to kill our children.

They don't stop there. They go as far as to say Moses trying to kill the cows.

Look, listen to me now. False evaluation will always lead to foolish exaggeration. False evaluation will always lead to foolish exaggeration.

One thing we used to say in college often that leaders, spiritual people, mature people look now, they have the capacity to take a big problem and make it small. You know what carnal people do? They take a small problem and they make it bigger.

Leaders, spiritual people, mature people, they're able to take a big problem, make it small. But carnal people, they take small problems and make them bigger. I'm talking about you can be in a you can be in a service and God God just met in the service.

God just moved in the service lives have been changed and sometimes I'm standing and I can see the person just waiting for their window. They're just waiting for it to open up. And after all that God did in the service is one person.

I got to talk to the pastor. I was standing out in the in the foyer and I realized that that light bulb was out.

And I'm telling you, I give my tithes, I pay my money, I give my offering. And where is all the money going in the church? The least we could do is have a light bulb committee.

Whoa, big boy. You just took something that was this small and made it this big. Look, don't get to the point in your life as a believer where you're exaggerating problems.

Yes, they're going to be issues, but have the capacity to go to God and take a big issue and make it smaller. They're falsely evaluating. They're foolishly exaggerating.

They're furious with their elder. Furious with their elder. And we're going to see the difference in verse number four between a carnal person and a spiritual person.

And verse number four. And Moses cried unto the Lord. You see that the people had an issue.

They went to Moses. Moses had an issue. He went to God.

Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, what shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. Look, they they've taken it so far that they are really ready to kill Moses.

Now, how did they get there? They thought Moses was going to kill them. To say it plainly, they said, Moses, we're going to get you before you get us.

They're falsely evaluating. There was a hindrance in the congregation. Look, not only was there a hindrance in the congregation, there was a highlight in their calamity.

There's a highlight in their calamity. Look, I'm thankful that the work of God doesn't stop because one man stops.

The work of God continues to go on. Look at verse number five. We're going to see how they were still fervent.

It says, and the Lord said unto Moses. I love these next two words. Go on.

Go on. It says, go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod wherewith thou smote the river, take in thine hand and go. They were still fervent.

Listen to me now. Regardless. Look, look, look.

The work is too great to stop because you stopped or because I stopped. Now, listen to me now. We want all of you to make a commitment that you're going to be a supporter.

But if you say, you know what, I'm not going to make the commitment to be a supporter. Look, the work of God is too great to put it on hold to wait on you to catch up.

There are some people, they put too much stock in themselves. They say, well, I don't know what the choir is going to do with me, what the choir is going to do if I don't sing. We going to sing.

So I don't know if I don't go visitation. I don't know what they're going to do if I don't show up for visitation. We going to go on visitation.

Awkward. But I don't know if I leave the church. I don't know what the church is going to do if I leave.

We still gonna have church. Now don't get me wrong now. We want everybody involved.

We want all hands on deck. But listen to me now. The work of God is too great to put it on hold for somebody else to catch up.

Look one thing that I've learned is that I benefit from the work of God more than the work of God benefits from me.

God said these two words, go on. My dad, he was a construction worker and there was a day we were doing a job and my dad used to do all the fun stuff and then I had to clean it up. He'll knock a whole wall down and says, all right, son, put that in that dumpster.

I'm like, I want to knock the wall down. And we were doing the job and my dad was supposed to be doing some ceramic tile and the plumber was supposed to finish something before my dad walked in the shower and the plumber didn't show up and do his part. And I looked at my dad and I said, dad, what are we going to do?

My dad looked at me and said, son, one monkey don't stop, no show. Translation, we're going to work anyway. All right.

But that's how it is in the work of God. The work of God is greater than any man. If someone decides to sit out, the work of God has to go on.

They were still fervent. Look at this. There were some that followed.

There were some that followed. Same verse again. He says, take with thee of the elders of Israel.

Take with thee of the elders of Israel. Look, God never needed a great group of people to do a great work. You know why?

He's a great God. Look, God, God can use a remnant of people to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. So some of you are sitting here right now.

You might be thinking, well, if the rest of my youth group does it, then I'll do it. Don't wait on them. God just needs a remnant.

God may God give us a remnant in this generation again. God did not choose Israel because they were great. They were the least of the nations and God used them to show his greatness.

We we would love to have all of you involved. But if God just gives us a remnant, God can do something with that, too. There were still some that were fervent.

There were still some that followed. But then we're going to see that there was the same faith. He says, take in that with I take with thee thy rod.

He says, the one that you smoke the river, take that and go. Now, this rod has been with Moses since Exodus. Remember, he threw it down and turned into a snake, picked it up and turned back into a serpent, put it out before the Red Sea and the Red Sea parted, struck the rock.

Moses has been using this rod. Can I say to all the leaders and some of you who may be leaders one day, if people stop following, don't panic and start changing everything.

Look, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Look, let me let me let me ask you a question. Does the word of God, does the Bible still work?

Then there's no need to change it. Does godly music still work? Then there's no need to change it.

Does soul winning still work? Then there's no need to change it. Don't start changing stuff because people stop following.

It still works. There were still fervent. There were some that followed.

They had the same faith. But then there's a sad fact. There's a sad fact.

Look at what he says in verse number six. He says, behold, I will stand before thee there 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 the elders of Israel.

Now, this verse sounds a little crazy to me, because remember how we started. God, these people are ready to stone me. They're angry at Moses because because they're thirsty and they're thinking that Moses is trying to kill them, their kids and their cows.

And they said, Moses, we're going to kill you first. And God says, Moses, go over there and strike the rock so water can come out that the people may drink. Now, y'all can call me carnal if you want to.

But let me tell you, if I know you trying to kill me tonight, guess what you ain't getting? You ain't getting no water.

Look, we're going to wait this thing out and you're going to die of thirst before I get stoned. All right. God says, Moses, the people that are seeking to kill you, give them water so they can drink.

I would say, God, what people? Now, this is what a carnal person says. This is what a carnal person says.

A carnal person says, well, if we're all going to get some water, why do I have to follow? We all going to get water anyway. Why do I have to follow?

Look now, everyone may have gotten water, but only a few knew where the water came from.

He only did so in the sight of the elders. From the time that I was a teenager, listen to me now, I mean this when I say this. From the time that I was a teenager, I've tried my best to follow so closely, not just so I can get some water, but I want to know where the water came from.

What do I mean by that? You may come to church on a Sunday and the whole church can celebrate that we have visitors here this morning. But there might be one young person that say, I knocked on that person's door.

I'm telling you, it's different. Look, you may go out there and see all those missionaries on the wall and say, oh, our church support missionaries. The whole church supports and the whole church celebrates.

But there's someone that says I sacrificed and gave money to that when I could have went out and did something else with that.

Look, everyone may get a drink, but there's only a handful that knows where the water came from. Look, maybe we get some young people who will make a commitment. Look, I'm not just going to be a spectator watching this thing.

I want to get in and get involved and stay so close so I can see what God is doing and be a part of it. We saw there was a highlight in their calamity. There was a hindrance in their conference and their in the congregation.

But then we're going to see there's a heated confrontation. There's a heated confrontation. Look what it says in verse number eight.

Then came Amalek and fought with Israel and Rephidim. Do you think this is a coincidence?

That when Israel is fighting amongst themselves, the enemy shows up. Listen to me closely, young people. Don't spend your time bickering and fighting amongst yourselves.

You hear me? Don't spend your time bickering and fighting. You know what?

We got a real enemy. We have a real enemy in the devil. And listen now, if the battle is amongst ourselves, there is no victory.

So, oh, well, I really told them I really gave them a piece of my mind. Congratulations. You win nothing.

If the battle is amongst ourselves, there's no victory. So the heated confrontation comes. And when this heated confrontation comes, Moses starts giving out orders.

Look at verse number nine. And Moses said unto Joshua, choose us out, men and go and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

The order that Moses gave, it was a very specific order. Listen to what he says, young fellas, look up at me. I'm curious right now.

How many of you young men believe that God has called you to preach right now? Put it up high. Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. OK, you put your hands down. Look, the order that Moses gave was a specific order.

He says, choose us out men. Choose out men. Now, can y'all imagine the scene if Moses says, all right, hey, enemy's coming.

It's time to fight. And all the ladies got their pink bedazzled sword and says, OK, Moses, we're coming.

Can you imagine that scene? Now, look, let me just tell you, we have the war of special forces here. We got all this stuff going on.

Look now, can I remind you that we're in a spiritual battle? Can I remind you that we're in a spiritual war? We don't wrestle against flesh and blood.

Look, we're in a spiritual war. We're in a spiritual battle. We're in a spiritual fight.

Listen to me, young men. If anybody ought to take the front lines in this spiritual war, it ought to be our young men. We need some of you young men to step up in your youth groups.

We need some of you young men to make a commitment that you're going to be a leader in your church. I travel all over the country in different churches. You know what?

I see women setting up chairs, women vacuuming the floor, women cleaning the bathrooms, women doing everything. Where are the men? May God give us some young men that will say, I'm going to take my place in the spiritual war and in this spiritual battle.

Look, I was raised by a single mother. I was led to the Lord by a woman who was a Sunday school teacher. But I can say this with no hesitation this evening.

If men are not taking their rightful place in the work of the Lord, the work of God will not be what God intended for it to be. We need some of you young men to step up and enlist to be a supporter of the work of God. It was a specific order.

But then it was a suspect order. Sounds a little. Think about what Moses said.

Moses says chooses out men and go out into the valley and fight. Then he makes this statement tomorrow. I'm going to go up to the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.

Does that sound off to anybody or is that just me? I said, excuse me, brother Moses.

If I'm going to go down into the valley and fight today, I would sure appreciate it if you got up there and started praying today.

You around here talking about you're going to go up there tomorrow, tomorrow. I need you up there today. Look, let's just all be real for just a moment.

In the work of the Lord, there are going to be some things that we encounter that we don't understand.

Some things that may not make sense to you. Look, don't go around saying, well, if I were the youth pastor, I would. Well, you're not the youth pastor.

If I were the pastor, then I would. I'm sorry, you're not the pastor. Look, there are going to be some things that you don't you don't fully understand.

But look now, your lack of understanding does not neglect your responsibility to be obedient and involved.

He says, tomorrow I'll go. It was a suspect order, a specific order, but then it was a standing order. He says, with the rod in my hand.

He goes up there with that same rod that he always had. And you know what Moses is doing while he's there on the top of that hill? You know what he's doing?

He's interceding on the behalf of the children of Israel. He's interceding. And we see the problem with only a man interceding on our behalf.

You know the problem with only a man interceding? The same problem Moses has. Look now, they're just men.

They get weary. They get tired. Oftentimes they'll grow weary and well doing.

But look now, can I tell you, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't just have a man that's interceding for us. God is interceding for us. You know the amazing about that?

Look now, God never gets weary. God never gets tired. God never slumbers.

God never sleeps. He never takes a break. He never goes on vacation.

Look now he ever live to make intercession for us. When I'm talking about supporting the work of God, I'm not just talking about supporting something that a man is doing. I'm talking about supporting something that God is doing.

Listen to me, young people. You cannot go wrong giving your life to the Lord. Look, don't believe the lie of the devil thinking, oh, it'll be better if I give my life over here or better.

If I give my look, that is a lie of the devil. The best life a man can give live is one that is given over to the Lord.

There were some orders that were given. There were some obstacles. He began to get tired.

But then let me give you one more. He had a. Hinderns in the congregation, they got.

Help in their calamity, heated confrontation. And lastly, there was help from their comrades. It was help from their comrades.

Look down at verse number 12. But Moses hands were heavy. And they took a stone and put it under him and he set their own.

And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Isn't it something when we compare the end of this chapter with the beginning of this chapter? How does the chapter start?

These people be ready to stone me. How does it end? The people are pulling over a stone for Moses to sit on.

You know one thing I've learned? It takes the same amount of energy to help someone as it does to hurt someone. So why not help?

It takes the same amount of energy to help your youth group as it does to hurt your youth group. So why don't help? It takes a long time to help the work of God as it does to hurt the worker.

So why not help? Look, the same thing that they were planning to use to kill Moses with, was the same thing by the end of the chapter they used to help them with. They had that same energy that came.

We saw that it led to the winning of the battle. Look at verse number 12 again. But Moses' hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him.

And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady into the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Look, the winning of the battle, it takes two things. The winning of the battle, it takes cooperation and it takes consistency. It takes cooperation.

It says the one on the one side and the other on the other side. Can you imagine these two guys, Aaron and Hur, if they went up there while Moses' hands were dropping and they start fighting and arguing with each other? Moses says, Aaron, Aaron says, Hur, why would you take the left side, man?

You know we grew up together. You know I'm left handed. We've been playing ball for years.

Why would you take if I don't get the left side, I ain't helping? Can you imagine that now now we laugh at that, but this stuff happens in the work of God all the time. If someone can't do what they want to do, they don't want to do anything.

Look, look, look, all of you can't do the same thing, but all of you can do something. There's something in the work of God that you can do. And as I said earlier, a sign of a strong youth ministry is when the youth learn to minister.

To where it's not just a youth group that is to you, but it's a youth group that is for you, a place in the work of God where you can serve and you can be involved. It takes some cooperation.

Now, if they're up there fighting while Joshua's down there fighting the enemy and Moses hands are lowering what's happening. People are in the field and they're dying.

Now, sometimes we don't apply that to real life, but oftentimes in the Christian life, You know, we start seeing believers start bickering and fighting amongst each other. And while we're refusing to cooperate, you know what's happening? Men, women, boys and girls are dying and going to hell.

Look, may God help us just learn how to cooperate and be supporters in the work of God. It takes cooperation. It takes consistency.

It says in his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. You know what I've learned? You can find somebody to help you for a weekend.

That ain't a problem. You can find somebody to help you for the youth conference. That's not a problem.

You can find somebody to help you for the big meeting. That's not a problem. But a faithful man who can find.

I'm talking about somebody that's going to be consistent. I'm talking about Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, where they're going to be involved in the work of life. Look, would you make a commitment tonight that you're not just going to have a good moment at the youth conference?

You're going to go back home and be faithful and be consistent. How many times do we see youth young people at the youth conference? They're sitting up straight.

They're taking notes. They got their Bible. As soon as they go home, don't have the Bible sitting down slouching.

Look, when you go home, be consistent. When the youth conference is over, be consistent. We need some faithful people who can be supporters of the work of God.

It leads to the winning of the battle. But then we see the writing of the book, the writing in the books, the writing in the books. Look down at verse number 14.

Oh, I love this. And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

Look, look, look. The writing of books, two reasons. One, it was praised by God.

Can you all picture this scene? Joshua was down in the valley and he's fighting. Moses and Aaron and Hur, they're up on the mountain and they're holding up his hands.

And the whole time, God is in heaven and he's watching. And something in the mind of God says, I like that. I like that.

So much so that God says, I like it so much that I want you to write it down in a book. How many of you think they wrote it down in a book? For those who don't know, you're holding the book.

He said, look, he says, write it down in the book. Look, this was something that was praised by God. Say, Brother Eddie, why in the world should I make a commitment to be a supporter of the work of God?

Are you ready for it? Because God likes it. It pleases him.

When you make a commitment to be involved and support the work of God, it pleases him. Not only is it praised by God, but it is preparation for the next generation.

It's preparation for the next generation. What did he say? Rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.

Look, one day, look now, one day Joshua is going to be out there leading the children of Israel.

And Joshua needs to know that there was somebody that was supporting. Look, some of you right now, you're going to be leaders one day in ministry. Look, before you get to the leadership position, look now support.

Support there. Look now, there are many people who want the platform. Look, God's work.

Listen to me now. God's work is not limited to the platform. I will go as far to say this is very little of it.

Now, we believe in preaching. We believe in the Bible and all that. But look now, God's work is not limited to this stage.

Some of you young men, you might not be a preacher. Doesn’t mean you can’t be a faithful layman in the work of God. You can serve God off the platform.

But if you're going to be a leader in ministry one day, look now, I highly encourage you start supporting now. It's preparation for the next generation. The Lord were going to say and Moses built an altar and he called the name of it Jehovah-nissi.

For he said, because the Lord have sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Young people, the question is very simple this evening. Will you be a supporter in the work of God?

I remember when I was a teenager, I told you all briefly that I wasn't born in a in a Christian home.

When I was born, my father was in prison. Family was running the streets, doing all types of things. And one thing that I never got over is that God wanted me to be involved in his work.

Even as I stand up here right now, I'm thinking to myself, how did you get here?

I'm nothing special. Just from the time that I was a young person, I say, you know what? I'll be involved.

I'll serve. I'll be a supporter. And my appeal to you this evening is the same.

Will you be a supporter of the work of God? And I'm telling you right now, it's room on the team for you. We need more preachers.

We need more missionaries. We need more faithful lay people. We need more Christian school teachers.

Look, look, look, look at this room. Surely we can get a remnant of young people who will make a commitment that they're going to be a supporter of the work of God. Will you enlist this evening in God's work?