Stand in your Faith & be determined Exodus 17.8-16: Israel Defeats the Amalekites While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 9 Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the stick of God in my hand.”

Exodus 17.10-13 10 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. 11 As long as Moses held up the stick in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. 12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

Exodus 17.14-16 14 After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). 16 He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Exodus 17.8.16 Israel Defeats Amalek Two teams: Joshua and the army in the battle and Moses, Aaron and Hur on the top of the hill The importance of the intercession The battle is real Keep praying and keep preaching

Luke 18 Parable of the Persistent Widow  1 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up Never give up

Luke 18.2-5 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Luke 18.6-8  6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

Statistics showing that the battle is real and the need to stand Mental Health 3 people out of 10 in the UK (3/10) experience mental health problems – anxiety and depression Smoking fact:  Over 80% of smokers start before the age of 19. Half of all long-term smokers will die of cancer or other smoking-related diseases.  Drink to blame as violence rises by 5 % in 2007  2.4 million incidents ranging from serious injury to low-level intimidation.  Knifes crimes: 400 offences per week Cancer in the UK: 1.2 Million & 284,560 people in 2004

Stay alert and Stand 4 your family 1 peter 5.8-9  8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters[b] all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. John 10.10 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My (Jesus ) purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.