THANK GOD FOR VOLUNTEERS – Pt 1

Exodus 17:8-13 “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, 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 up 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. 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, 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.”

This is a very important moment in the life of the nation of Israel. As they journey toward the Promised Land, they faced their first encounter with an army that is their enemy. They come face to face with Amalek.

The Amalekites were nomadic people. They occupied the peninsula of Sinai and the wilderness between the southern hill-ranges of Palestine and the border of Egypt. I Samuel 15:5 mentions a “town” but being nomadic people, that probably was only a station or nomadic enclosures. They were a constant thorn in the side of the nation of Israel. This attack here is the first contact between the two groups of people.

Here in this account we find the mention of Moses, Aaron and the first mention of Joshua. All these were great leaders in the history of Israel. They played an important role in the lives of the people of God.

However, there's another man who's mentioned here in this passage that deserves just as much attention. That man is Hur. He steps out on life’s stage, actually out of nowhere. He performs a great game-changing work and then disappears into the same shadows from which he had appeared.

When you think of great men in the history of Israel, you recall men like Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Elisha, and many others. Even in this story we think of Moses and Joshua, but let me remind you that there two other men who played a significant role in God’s plan. Those two great servants are Aaron and Hur. When the hands of Moses were raised to the heavens, there was victory. When the hands were dropped toward the ground, there was defeat.

After a while, Moses became too weary to hold his own hands up and Aaron and Hur stepped up and held Moses hands up until the battle was finished and victory was won.

In my mind, they are the true heroes in our saga. Of these two, Hur seems to stand out in my mind. Here is a man about whom we know next to nothing, yet he enabled an entire nation to see a great victory over a group of people they would see time and time again. That's what I call success. One man who dared to make a difference.

In the next few weeks in CHALLENGING CONCEPTS, I want to pay tribute to every Hur who is serving God somewhere in a local church. I know there are para-church organizations that are doing good work for the Lord and they have some fine volunteer and paid staff. I’m not discrediting those great servants. But my ministry has always been connected with a local church and I believe every child of God should be involved in a good Bible preaching local church.

In this blog I want to honor and thank the volunteers. I’m thankful for every person who has surrendered to full-time occupational ministry. God is using them in a great way, but every pastor of a local church knows how important it is to have an army of volunteers that in their service holds his hands high.

The “Hurs” are the ones who're willing to take the second seat, play second fiddle and not always be recognized for what they do. They're the real heroes.

Allow me to share four things that make them important to the work of the Lord. And if you one of those “Hurs” in your local church, thank God for you:

I. THESE SERVANTS ARE ABSOLUTELY INVALUABLE

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, 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.”

In verse 12 Moses has stood holding his hands up but he can’t do it any longer. So what happens? Aaron and Hur step up to the plate. It might not sound like a great task to some people, but Moses knows how important it is. And don’t let anybody kid you; God knew how important it was.

As I look back on my many years in the ministry, I recognize the value volunteers were to my service. When I graduated from Bible College and headed south with my wife, two children and all our belongings in a U-Haul trailer, we were setting out to turn the world upside down; or at least South Florida. My wife and I had no idea what we would face in the service of the Lord. I thought I was going to serve as Music Director but learned very quickly that I would have the position of Youth Director along with my musical duties. I didn’t even know how to spell “Youth Director” but now I are one. I had no training to work with youth. I didn’t even know where to start. Even in my duties with music I learned they wanted me to start a school band. I hadn’t expected that but did start a band program there at that Christian school, and went on to start two more band programs in other schools.

The thing that helped me the most, outside of the Lord, of course, was lay people in the church and school that gave of themselves tirelessly to hold up my hands. They were the real heroes. In our third church the youth group was averaging 75 each Sunday when we arrived. In less than four years God was bringing in 200 young people every Sunday morning. I could not do justice to start naming the people that worked side by side with me in the service of the Lord. We had countless young people come to know Christ as their personal Savior. Many went off to Christian colleges to prepare to make a difference for the Lord Jesus Christ in churches, Christian schools, and in the business world. They were the true heroes.

In my ministry at First Baptist Church of Westwood Lake, Clearlake Baptist of Cocoa, Calvary Baptist of Lakeland, Tri-City Baptist Church of Kansas City, Eifel Baptist of Herforst Germany and then back to Calvary Baptist of Lakeland, so many people held up my hands. Notice what Jesus said in Mark 15:40-41, "There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem." They held up His hands.

Thank God for the ones in every ministry around the world who serve the Lord and hold up the hands of the pastors and staff. They are the true heroes. They are invaluable in the service of the Lord.

In next week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS I will deal with THESE SERVANTS ARE ALWAYS INVOLVED.

That’s my view; how about you?