Exeter chapter 17, now we read this chapter on Wednesday night, we're going to read just the last verse of it. Exeter chapter 17, verse 16, For he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. There are three enemies that the Christian has. The world, the flesh, and the devil and his kingdom. When we were studying in the chart the land of Egypt and its king and its inhabitants, We spent quite some time pointing out the character of the world, as we have it illustrated in the land of Egypt of that day. On Wednesday night we were looking at the first enemy that came on Israel after they were delivered from the land of Egypt, and that was Amalek. And we saw that Amalek in Scripture is a type of the flesh, that old, fallen nature that is in every one of us. Even though we've been saved, that old nature continues with us. Now I'm not going back over the ground we covered on Wednesday night, although it was very, very important, because it is necessary that all of our Christians understand the the nature of the fallen nature that is in them, and the more we understand the nature of the flesh, the better equipped we will be to gain victory over it. Now, what we're going to do this morning, if time permits, I want to point out to you six appearances of Amalek in the Scriptures. We were reading this last verse of chapter 17 because you can see this was not a once-for-all battle. Here was something that was going to continue generation after generation. And so as we quickly move through our Old Testament this morning, Amalek appearing on a number of occasions. Now every one of these passages is very interesting and very instructive. My difficulty will be just to point out one or two key thoughts. I hope enough will be said to interest you, to rouse your curiosity, and you will read these passages carefully, and that some of you who are Bible students will really dig into them, because your labors will be well rewarded. What I want to do this morning, just spend a very few minutes on each one of these, and point out some of the characteristics of the flesh as illustrated in these incidents relating to Amoy. Now, naturally, there's a great deal said in our New Testament regarding the flesh. that I pointed out on Wednesday night. We'll be pointing out more in our next message in which we'll look at the way of victory over the flesh. I just point out three characteristics of the flesh before we get right into our study. In Romans chapter 7 and verse 18, we are told that the flesh is unholy. Paul said, I know in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in John chapter 6 and verse 63, said, The flesh profiteth nothing. So it's not only unholy, it's unprofitable. And in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul said, We are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. So this old nature that in you and in me is unholy, It's unprofitable, and it's unreliable. Now, we were noticing, some measure of care, on Wednesday night, the attack that was made on the people of Israel by Amalek, as we have it here, in Exodus chapter 17. I was pointing out at that time from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25, and verse 18, that this was not a frontal attack. Amalek didn't come out and engage them in battle from the front. So there was a pitched battle in that sense. But rather we read in that 18th verse of Deuteronomy chapter 25, these words, which I want to emphasize again this morning. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way. That's the 17th verse. When you were come forth out of Egypt. How he smote thee by the way, he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou was faint and weary, and he feared not God. So that the first time we have Amalek coming on the scene and attacking the people of God, please notice, it was not a frontal attack, it was an ambush, and he fell on the feeble one, the ones whose strength was waning, and who had begun to gradually drop back. Once they may have been up in the forefront, but slowly, it may be almost imperceptibly, they began to lag behind. and lurking there in the shadows was Amalek. And as the army of Israel passed by, and the fighting men and the ones that were up in the forefront, as they had passed by, and these weak and weary stragglers are coming along behind, out from their hiding place, leaps overthrows them. So the first time we have Amalek brought divorce, he's attacking the feeble stragglers. Now I'd like to emphasize that. The only point I'm going to take time to go back over, that which we looked at Wednesday night. It's so important. My dear brother or sister in Christ, if you're not as out and out for God as you once were, you're in If you're lagging behind, you're in danger. If you used to be at the Lord's Supper every Sunday morning and now you're there but once a month, you're in danger. If you're at the Lord's Supper and at none of the other services, you're in danger. Now that is the teaching of the Word of God. And I have watched that experience for almost 50 years now. who were out and out for golf. Then they began to cool off. They began to get occupied. It may be what material things. It had to be a better job. It had to be a bigger home. It had to be a finer car. It had to be something else. Yes, they prospered materially, and they failed spiritually. You could always count on them being the services. Now they could be gone for a month, sick and you'd never miss them. Why? Because that's quite common. That's about their normal attendance once a month. Now that is the condition that the flesh is waiting for. And the flesh is going to overthrow ones like that. I hope you will take that as a message from God. will see you getting right back into the thick of things for golf. Now there are dangers for leaders, but I'd rather be shot down in the front of the battle than picked off at the rear. I'd rather die with one of the enemy's spears in my heart from the front than die with a dagger in the back because I was lagging along. But now, if you want to, you could turn to Judges chapter 6. All I'm going to do is to give you these passages, point out one or two things in connection with them, and leave it to you as to how much further you follow on. I'll try to give you enough thoughts to join together. In Judges chapter 6, I'm just going to read verse 3. When Israel had zoned that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the East, even they came up against them, and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, attacking the feeble stragglers. That's the lesson of Exodus 17, Judges 6, destroying the food supply. Now Israel had gone ahead, as it were, they'd progressed right through the chart. They'd gotten into the land of Canaan. They're in their possession now, in their inheritance in Canaan. But we find here that the Amalekites come on the scene once again. You see, my friend, you'll never get in a position or condition on earth where where you won't be in danger from the flesh, don't you let any holiness preacher or anyone else tell you that you can have an experience on earth that will put you beyond the reach of the flesh, absolutely unscriptural and untrue. If you live a Christian life for fifty years and have all experiences that a Christian can have, you'll still be in danger of the flesh. Now mark that down, for many have an overthrown because they've been deceived in that matter. Israel's in Canaan, but Amalek comes again. And you'll notice two Amwits teamed up with Midian. Now the Midianites, of course, lived on the border of the land of Canaan. And their name means strife, strife. And wherever you have strife, amongst the people of God, there you've got the flesh. A spiritual man will never cause trouble amongst the people of God. But a man in the flesh, or a woman in the flesh, controlled by amulet, they can cause a lot of strife, they can let their tongue run away with them, or something else, and they can backbite and criticize and all of that, and right there you've got the flesh. Now what did it do? When these came up against Israel, now they're in the land, they didn't drive them out, they couldn't do that. And the flesh can never get you out of your position in Christ. But what happened? Here they're in the land that God described as flowing of milk and honey. Here was a fruitful land. But they weren't getting any good of it. They were starving. They were impoverished. Why? Because Midian and Amalek destroyed all the crops. It's very interesting, I wish we could go on and study the six chapters. You'll find a man here, he's determined he's going to get some food, and he's stretching wheat by the wine press, and Gideon overcomes in this battle. But I must leave that. What I want you to see is, millions and amulets, they destroy the food supply, and although these people are in their God-given land, they're perishing from hunger. They're impoverished. They're starving. Now, it's pitiful. God has made an abundant supply for us spiritual. We ought to be spiritually fat and flourishing. But strife gets in. And People's tongues run away with them, and they get criticizing and doing this and that and the next thing, and the flesh takes over instead of the spirit, and there's no food, nothing to feed the soul on. Oh, my brethren and sisters, be a Gideon. See to it that every day you get some food for your soul out of this book, see that you get that which will strengthen your spiritual life, but I must move on. We're going to turn over to 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, once again, I find myself in a chapter that I would love to spend the entire time on. But here we come over to the days of Saul. And Once again, we have the Amalekites here. If you begin reading at the beginning of this chapter, you'd find that Saul, and Saul, I might say, is the man after the flesh. Oh, how many lessons we could learn from his life if we had time. But I'm just going to ask you to read verse 3. Here is God's word to Saul. go and smite the amulet, smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not. Verse 9. But Solomon the people spared Agag, that's the king, and the best of the sheep, and the oxen, and the fatling, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refused that they destroyed. Now we'll have to read one more, verse 15. And Saul said They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, the sacrifice of the Lord thy God, and the rest they have utterly destroyed. You got the picture? Here's first king in Israel. Saul, he's commanded to go out and absolutely destroy Amalek. And he goes out. And he overcomes Amalek. But he doesn't carry out the word of God fully. He spares the king. And he spares the best of the flocks and the herds. And when he comes back, He has the impudence to tell the prophet that he'd obeyed the Lord. Well, says Samuel, what's this bleeding of sheep that I hear? Oh, yes, that's right. Yes, we didn't utterly destroy them. No, we bought back the best. Well, what did you do that for? Well, the people said, let's spare the best and we'll offer it. to the Lord. Now it's in this chapter that we have that verse that all of us should know to obey is better than to sacrifice. You see, God doesn't want you giving the best of the flesh to him. He wants you to obey him. He wants you to carry out his word to the latter. Not the way you think it should be done. Not the way others want it to be done. The way he sands. And so they spared Agag, and they spared the best, you see. It wasn't very hard for them to put to death the truer of the flocks from the herds. The weak and the sickly in that. But my, here's a nice, healthy sheep. Now, be ashamed to put that to death, just because that belongs to Amalek, let's take it home and give it to God as an act of worship. Oh, my brethren and sisters, I hope we'll learn from this chapter, the flesh can't give anything to God. You can't worship and serve God with a flesh. Now, that's a whole subject in itself. Because I want to say this. I don't think I'm putting it too high whatsoever. when I say that about 90% of Christian service today is the flesh. It's just the flesh. Now, we read on here. A-Gag the king is called for. And it says he comes delicately. Now, that's a very interesting word in the Hebrew. I wish I would, I wish I could. to illustrate it, but it would be a little bit too hilarious. Did you ever see anybody, you know, just stepping along where you said, so nice, you know? My mother used to say butter wouldn't melt in their mouth, you know? Well, I'm like, that's the thought here. Oh, my he came along so delicately, you know. Like that. He met the wrong man when he met old Samuel. You know Samuel said, who did? He's beautiful the people. He spewed in the feast. Oh, yes. Now, that's the flesh. Paul wrote to Galatians of those who'd like to make a fair show in the flesh. I tell you there's an awful lot of that in the religious world today. A fair show in the flesh. You hear about a ball fair, big league ball fair, and he gets saved. I hope he does. week next, week after, when he doesn't know A from B in the things of God, he's getting big crowds. Now God doesn't care how far a man can hit a baseball. God doesn't care for one second how fast a man can throw baseball. God doesn't care one bit about that. And And it's nauseating to see one because of their athletic ability, and they become preachers and teachers before they've learned the first thing about God. They don't know a thing about the Bible, just babes. They ought to be learning. And the same goes for the business world. Oh, he's a millionaire and he got babes. So what? God doesn't care one bit whether a man's a millionaire or not. not a bit and many a millionaire on earth will take a back seat at the judgment seat of Christ and some poor widow that lived for God will take a front seat a fair show in the flesh oh how the flesh loves to show itself off why this is Dr. A.B. Dr. so-and-so A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.N. then. God doesn't care a thing about that. Not a single thing. If he uses what he knows for God, good. But don't parade it before God. God is quite unimpressed. Quite unimpressed. Ega. He's so nice. So nice. Kill him the pieces. The best of the place. You know, it's not hard the flesh. I didn't have any trouble my drinking after God saved me. I didn't have any trouble with my swearing after God saved me. I didn't have any trouble any of those vile things were in my life after God saved me. Not a bit. Because they're recognized immediately as the flesh and that was it. They're done with. But I've still got to struggle against the best of the flesh. You know would like to put on a show, that we should like to be somebody, I, me, myself. That's the flesh, just as much as drunkenness or other immoral things. And so easily we can be overcome. Oh, I say, I wish we could just follow Saul through, because Saul, by sparing the flesh, We'll get that moment or two. He lost his life and he lost his crown. But we'll turn over a little further. Chapter 30 of this same book of Samuel. We come now to the days of David the king. And here again, we're filled. This chapter is just filled with practical instruction. But I just want you to notice... We'll just pick up a verse in... We'll read verse 13. Let me just give you the story very briefly. David had failed. His faith had failed. And he'd gone down to the Philistines, thinking they could be safe there. After all God's deliverance, he had doubted whether God could preserve him, because the best of men of God can fail. While he was there in the Philistines, there's an invasion of his home city, a ziggler. And when he comes back, the city's in ashes. Where's my family carried cattle? And all the men found that their wives and families had been carried away cattle. Well, David, warrior that he was, he pursues after them. And what we're reading of in verse 13, they find a young man lying in the field. They've been there for three days. just about dead. And it says, in verse 13, David said to him, To whom belongs thou? Went far, thou. He said, Now notice this. I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. And my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. Here's a young man. man, then, from Egypt. He's a servant or a slave to an Amalekite who is one of this, in this invading force. But he takes sex. He's no use then for fighting. What does this servant do? His master do, rather. He is a faithful servant. What is his master? He leaves him the Lord. This leads them to die. Forsaking a faithful servant. That's what the flesh will do. The flesh will lead you on as long as you're some used to it. My friend, just as soon as the flesh can get nothing out of you, it'll drop you. It'll drop you there to doesn't care a thing about you. Oh, that's a mistake. I so often wish I could get young people to see this, because I was blind when I was very, and I thought the things the flesh could give me would not be wonderful. But experience has taught me from my own and experience of thousands of people that I've met. The flesh will forsake you. and leave it to die. Doesn't matter how tastefully you may serve it. Here's a man. Let me just illustrate for a minute. Here's a man and his flesh leaves him with drunkenness. And he drinks and drinks and drinks and drinks and drinks. And then when he gets to be a poor, helpless son, where's the flesh you just leave him to die in the gutter? No, you could go on and on and on, oh, that we might learn this life. Is any wonder, Paul said, we have no confidence in the flesh. You can't depend on it. And I tell you, anything that's of the flesh, no matter how faithfully you serve it, it'll drop you, and you can be left to die there in the field. The flesh doesn't care one thing. about you. But I'd like it possible to say a word or two on two other passages, 2 Samuel chapter 1. 2 Samuel chapter 1. Once again, I know you're getting weary of hearing it, but once again we have a chapter that just filled with practical instruction. We should read the first 13 verses we're not going to I'm just going to read to you verse 10 but before I do let me give you the link in the story Saul that we're talking about the spare the Amalekite he goes out to battle and he slain he and his son a messenger comes to the camp of David David had been persecuted by Saul. David, who if he hadn't been the man of God that he was, would have rejoiced to hear at the death of Saul. But instead of that, he's overcome with Saul. Although Saul had done everything possible against him and tried to put him to death, David laments the death of Saul and Jonathan. messenger that has come to the camp. He's got a crown in his hand, one hand. He's got some jewels in the other hand. Now listen to him in verse 10. He's speaking about Saul. So I stood upon him and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after they'd fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet was on his arm, brought them hither unto my Lord. The story this man told, whether we can believe it or not, I don't know. He said that as he came to the battlefield, Saul was there, and he was mortally wounded. And in his agony, he says he asked me to put him to death. So he said, I stood on him, and I slew him. And I took his crown. Who was it that Saul spared the Amalekites? If he had obeyed God and utterly destroyed them, there wouldn't have been this Amalekite. But now at the end of his life, he loses his life through an Amalekite. And he loses his crown. And that kingly crown that Saul had. had worn was taken off his head and carried by a young Amalekite to David. What a solemn lesson. You and I as Christians, if we spare this flesh, will lose our crown at the judgment seat of Christ. He that soweth of the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and if we allow the flesh to dominate us to control us we stand at the judgment seat of christ we'll lose our life not our soul that's safe from the keeping of christ we'll lose our life it'll be burned up to ashes my friend it doesn't matter what you get on earth that is if it isn't of god it'll go up in ashes at the judgment seat of christ and that's why we have the solemn word, in Revelation 3.11, let no man take thy crown. Saul, was the man taking your crown? Yes, Saul might have said, if I'd only put them all to death, he wouldn't have been able to do that. And if the judgment seat of Christ, you and I, if we live for the flesh, we'll see someone taking our crown. that you should have gotten for teaching that Sunday school class someone else will get that crown that you would have gotten for living for God somebody else will get it and they'll wear it for all eternity don't let the flesh rob you of your crown what a tragedy it is that many of God God's people are going to be in heaven for all eternity with a saved soul and a lost life. Their light just burned up. No, they didn't live a drunkard's life. No, they didn't live an immoral life. No, they lived a nice, respectable life. But they lived for self. If you all know what the flesh is, just F-L-E-S-H. take off the H and spell it backwards S-E-L-F Now the thing for everyone else to do is to ask how much is self-dominating my life self-pity self-preferment anything that can be spelled with self is the flesh and it will rob you of your crown in a coming day we're going to continue on to just one other book the little book of Esther just keep on turning you've got to Job you've turned a little too far you Esther right in front of Job and in the third chapter you read about right in the first verse about an Agagite. You remember, Agag was the king. Apparently it was a title, just like Pharaoh. That wasn't a name. That was the title of the rulers of Egypt. The czars, you remember, used to rule in Russia. The Kaisers used to rule in Germany. So Agag apparently wasn't a name, it was the title. Now here's a man, and we're over now in the time of the captivity, and here is an Agagite who would be an Amletite, and once again this third chapter has a tremendously interesting story. Let me give you a very briefly. Here at the court of this Persian The world ruler, there is an Agagite or an Amalekite who has worked himself into the favor of the king. And he is, as you read the story, you can see this man is bent on one thing. He's going to be the first. He's going to have the first place. to be prominent. He's going to be honored. He's going to be revered. Yes, he's going to be worshiped. He's going to have the first place, and everybody is going to bow down before him. Well, the king commands to do it, and they all do. And as more as this man, Haman, comes along the street, everybody bows down before him. Except one man. There's a little Jews sitting in the gate, man by name of Mordecai. His name means a little man. And as he sits in the gate, and Haman comes along, and they all bow down to him, Mordecai sits right there. Right there. God hadn't said to worship the Amalekites, he'd said to war with them, put them to death, destroy them. Mordecai is one of those little men who is a spiritual giant, and you can just hear him saying to himself, I'm bowing to no Amalekites. Well, the king said, you have to. Well, I'm sorry about that. about that. I'm just not going to bow. Everybody else is doing it. I can't help that. I'm just not going to bow. And you know, he just spoiled everything for Haman. Thousands bowed to him, but all he could think of, that little Jew in the gate there, he won't bow down to me. And that's the story of the book of Esther. Which tremendously interesting saw. Haman decides on the death, not just the Mordecai, but of all the Jews, he's going to wipe out the whole nation. That's what the flesh wants to do. But we haven't time to go into that. But the lesson we learn here is the flesh wants to be first. Now you and I, we better face up to this. You and I have got a nature in here that wants to be first. that wants to be prominent it wants to be revered it wants to be on well you say no no that's not me no no I'm very humble person I imagine you are I'm very proud of your humility every one of us now everyone doesn't manifest this because as Christians as we shall see in our next study there's victory over and I know many good humble godly believers who don't want the first place but they'd be the first ones tell you they've got something in there that does and you've got to keep it down all the time it wants to be honored it wants to be respected it wants to be revered it wants to be worshiped it wants to be looked That's Haman the Agadon. They came to him. I can't resist the temptation to mention this. They came to him one day, and they said, Haman, want you to answer a question? Oh, yes. Now, what should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? Well, the wheel started to turn, you know, in Haman. And he said to himself, now, who would the king delight to honor except me? You know, that's the place. He just couldn't think of anybody else that the king would want to honor except himself. So he goes into great detail. Well, have him brought out and put on the king's robes and bring the king's horse and get the leading man in the city to lead the horse and go before this man, the man on the horse and the saddle there that you're honoring lead him on down and cry before him, what shall it be done to the man of the king, the lightest of the water? You know, him and could just see himself seated up there on that horse, you know, with all those royal robes, they can just see himself there. And then the roof fell in. And they said, you do that to Mordecai. What's that? You take Mordecai. Well, he's that little Jew that won't bow down to me. The king said you take him and do for him just exactly what you say. Can you imagine Haman leading that horse down to the main street with little Mordecai sitting up there on the side? Well, he just couldn't take it. He had to do it. And then he went home and hanged himself. It's a pity he hadn't done it before. But you see, that's the flesh, friends. But now here I want to leave this with you. Although we have this flesh in us, it's going to end up the loser. Several times we have read in very Scripture that the Lord will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from the face of the earth. Yes, Amalek was allowed to continue, but God eventually was going to wipe the very remembrance of it out. And my friends, this flesh of ours, that causes so much trouble and is so dishonoring to God, there's a new heavens on the new earth coming, my brethren, and there won't be a trace of the flesh in And, you know, even before that, when I get my new body, when the Lord comes, and I'm either raised from the dead, or changed into his life, the greatest thing about that to me is there won't be a trace of the flesh in me, only be a glorified body, but there won't be a trace of this old, fallen nature in us, but we shall be like him and he's holy, he's perfect, he's sinless, and that's what we'll be when we get our glorified body. So we say, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Shall we pray? Father, bless thy precious word, we do grant that that which we have looked