Larry Powers | The Battle is The Lord's | 2.12.20

well if you have a Bible with you tonight please open if you will to second chronicles chapter 20 it's about halfway through the Old Testament as I was praying about what God would have a study together tonight he put on my heart to have us look together at one of the most dramatic incredible astounding stories in all of the Word of God the title of the message tonight is the battle is the Lord's the battle is the Lord's and the text we're going to look at is in second chronicles chapter 20 verses 1 through 22 the story is told about a young boy he was in the second grade and the children's ministry at the church that he was a part of announced that they were going to do a drama a play one Sunday night and it would include all the famous scenes throughout the Bible in different classes were chosen to play different dramatic events in the Bible and this little boy's second-grade class was chosen to do the scene where Jesus comes out on the stormy sea of Galilee and he meets his disciples in the boat and of course he says to them peace be still and so on and this little boy was chosen to have the high honor and the great privilege of playing the part of Jesus and he had one and only one line the line it is I be not afraid and so this little guy he began to practice his line in the morning when he was having breakfast yet as I be not afraid when he was riding the bus to school it is I be not afraid when he was having lunch it is I be not afraid when he was on recess it is I be not afraid on the way home and as I need to be not afraid to dinner it is I be not afraid the last thing he would say before he go to sleep it is I be not afraid he he was doing this for several weeks and then came the night of the big production at his church and different classes were doing there different scenes and then it came turned for his class to do their scene and all of his friends were out in the middle of the stage and the lights were kind of dim and there was this cardboard makeshift boat that was there and all of his friends they were kind of rocking back and forth like they were in a stormy sea and so this little guy he comes out onto the stage to give his one and only line only when he gets out there he takes a look at the crowd and he has never seen so many people in all of his life and he just freezes with fear he looks down on the front row and his mom is down there she's mouthing the words but this little guy it's just he's still so petrified he can't say anything and the teacher she's off the side of the stage and she's trying to coach him along not afraid is I be not afraid but he's still so afraid he can't say anything and finally he musters up enough courage that he blurts out it's only me and I'm scared to death story I don't know how many times in my life or your life that we have felt like that little boy before us in the Word of God tonight is the story of a man a great man of God who felt very much like that little boy the date was 758 BC the place was Jerusalem and the man's name we want to talk to you about tonight was Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah and that means that his great-great grandfather was King Solomon that name ought to be familiar with you as a student of the Bible because King Solomon is the one who built the most famous building in the Bible the temple of the Lord it was great it was impressive and it was beautiful and his great great grandson was josaphat and josaphat was a good king he was a godly King and because of that everything was going so well in the kingdom but then in one day everything changed I don't know if you have discovered in your life the difference that one day can make sometimes one day you can feel like you're on the top of the world and the next day it can feel like your whole life is falling apart one day it can seem like it is the best day of your life the very next day it can seem like the worst day of your life one day you can feel safe and secure and healthy and happy and just one day later you can feel so lonely and so overwhelmed and so afraid and dear once if you ever feel like that if you ever go through experiences like that maybe some of you are here tonight and you feel like that please know you are in good a company because many of God's people have felt that way Jehoshaphat felt that way in his is a story that shows us what to do when you're in trouble his is a story that shows us what to do when your world falls apart his is a story that shows us what to do when it seems like everything is against you now there are four things that happen as the story unfolds and if you happen to have a piece of paper and a pen or a pencil I would highly encourage you just to jot these four things down that way you can go back later and study through the story and then maybe you can share what you've learned tonight with someone else that will be a blessing to them the first thing that we see in the story as it unfolds before us is Jehoshaphat's problem and that's what we see in verses 1 & 2 look there at what the Word of God says it says and it happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon and two others with them besides the ammonites came to battle against Jay Josaphat then some came and told Jehoshaphat saying a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria and therein has azan Tamar which is in Getti about thirty miles from Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat was afraid what was jehosophat's problem well we see here that enemies had risen up against him now it's one thing if one enemy rises up against you it's another thing if two enemies rise up against you but here we see three enemies have risen up against Jehoshaphat he is literally surrounded by enemies humanly speaking he's in a totally impossible situation and do you know what Joss offense problem he's often your problem it's often my problem because enemies can sometimes rise up against the people of God now I'm not speaking about enemies with swords and spears or something like that there are other kinds of enemies that rise up against us there are financial enemies that rise up against the people of God there are health enemies that rise up against the people of God there are legal enemies that rise up against the people of God there are relational enemies that rise up against the people of God Jehovah Jehoshaphat's problem is often your problem it's often my problem and I'm sure that what might have made things even worse for Jehoshaphat is that he was a good king he was a godly king in in our minds we sort of reason that you know if a person is a bad person and bad things happen to bad people then that makes sense to us but whenever a bad things happen to good people to God people then we began to ask that question why why Lord I've been so faithful to you I've honored your name I walked in the ways of the Lord why Hogan would you allow these enemies to rise up against me dear ones if you ever asked that question know that God has an answer the reason why that God was sometimes allowed those enemies to rise up against us is because he wants us to learn to depend on him and only him not on other people not on other things why would he allow enemies to rise up against us so that when we get in these impossible situations and we look to him we see with our own eyes what the power of God can do we see with our own eyes as we sang tonight that our God is a way maker and that nothing is too hard for him that nothing is impossible for the Lord why why does he allow us to get in these kinds of situations so that we will turn the reins of our life over to him the story is told about the godly farmer and this farmer had a young teenage boy and the farmer was increasingly concerned about his son because his son was getting older his son was getting more and more rebellious he was getting more and more stubborn and he was getting more and more independent and this young teenager acted like he didn't need anybody's help and his father was so concerned because he knew what was going to affect his relationship with other people and it was going to affect his relationship with God and he was really praying for his son he was asking the Lord Lord could you just show me how I can help my son and and one day he had an idea he believed that God gave him an idea and he just he said to his son he said hey would you like to go for a ride out in the buckboard wagon and sensei oh that would be awesome and so they hitched up a team forces to the buckboard wagon and down the road they win and as they're driving along together the father says to the son would you like to drive would you like to take the reins well this independent rebellious overconfident son sure of course and so his father hands him the reins well the instant that he handed him the reins those horses could sense the insecurity of this young man and all of a sudden they shot off like a rocket down the road and we were there going faster and faster and faster and the faster they're going the more and more panicked this young teenager becomes until finally at one point he says dad you take the reins and his dad took the reins and slowed the horses down he stopped the wagon and he began to talk to his son from his heart and he said son I'm so concerned about you you think you don't need anyone's help you think you don't need God's help but you do need God's help why why would God allow circumstances enemies to rise up against you and me because he wants us to learn to run to him to go to him and only him to depend on him to deliver us and no one else well that brings us to a second thing that we see in our story and that is Jehoshaphat's prayer Jehoshaphat's prayer that's what we see in verse 3 to 13 why would God allow problems to come because it drives us to him what do you do what enemies rise up against you what do you do when your world falls apart what do you do when it seems like everything is against you you run to God in prayer and verse want to get it happened after this is the people of Moab with the people of Ammon and others besides the ammonites they came to battle against Jehoshaphat and some came and told him a great multitude he's coming against you so what did y'all set that do verse three says in Jehoshaphat was afraid so he set himself to seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast route all Judah so Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord then Jehoshaphat stood in the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord in the house of the Lord before the new court what did Jehoshaphat do when enemies had risen up against him he began to pray he began to call out to God in prayer one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 50 in verse 15 where God says this to you and me he says call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and he will glorify me call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me listen Jos fat knew where to find help he began to pray and seek the Lord and not only did he begin to pray he got everybody else to pray with him as many people throughout the land as he could begin to pray they began to pray and where were they pray notice verse 5 then Jehoshaphat stood in the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord in the house of the Lord before the new court the house of the Lord what was the house of the Lord it wasn't a church building like this the house of the Lord for Joseph at was the temple the temple that his great-great grandfather Solomon had built and something amazing happen when his great-great-grandfather Solomon dedicated the temple Solomon prayed a prayer and the essence of the prayer is this Oh Lord if enemies ever rise up against your people if your people are ever in trouble and they come into the house of the Lord to cry out to you O God here in answer their prayer and when Jehoshaphat was in trouble when enemies had risen up against him he knew where to find help help was he in the house of the Lord dear ones I'm so glad you're here tonight in the house of the Lord this is where hope is found this is where help is found this is where answers are found to go to the house of God and to begin to call on the name of the Lord with all of your heart and faith knowing that he's promised that when you call on his name he will hear and answer you and so Jehoshaphat he begins to pray in verse six and oh oh what a prayer he prayed in verse six and he said O Lord God of our fathers are you not God in heaven and do you not rule over the kingdoms of the nations and in your hand is there not power and might so that no one is able to stand withstand you notice how he begins his prayer he he says O Lord God of our fathers I love that name of God I love that title of God as students of the Bible you know that there are many names of God in the Bible he's called Elohim he's called El Elyon he's called El Shaddai he's called Jehovah he's called Jehovah Jireh he's called all these many different names but though Jehoshaphat could have chosen any one of those names he didn't and he began his prayer by praying O God of our fathers why did he use that name of God I believe he used that name of God because he was going back to the fact that whenever God's people called on him God answered their prayers Oh God Oh God when Noah was in trouble he called out to you and you answered his prayer Oh God when Abraham was in trouble and he called out to you you answered his prayer o God when Joseph was in prison and he called out to you you heard and answered his prayer O Lord when Moses and the people were groaning under bondage in Egypt they called out to you and you answered their prayer O God when Joe ha when Joshua was in trouble and he called out to you you heard and answered his prayer O God when David was in trouble with that giant Goliath he called on your name and you heard and answered his prayer O God of our fathers o God who's always heard and answered the prayers of your people he says are you verse 6 are you not God in heaven and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations and in your hand is there not power in mind so that no one is able to withstand you what was he saying he was saying O God of our fathers I thank you that you are still on the throne dear ones I've come with a good word from God for you tonight God is still on the throne no matter what is happening in your marriage no matter what is happening in your health no matter what is happening in your finances no matter what is happening in the world God is still on the throne Jehoshaphat prays and he says o Lord whose always answered prayer I know that you are still ruling and reigning from on high and then verse 7 are you not our God oh I like that your God is now just the god of people long ago and far away he's the Living God he's a God of today he's the God of now he's your God and my god Oh God who's always answered prayer Oh God who's still on the throne oh you are our God verse seven are you not our God who drove out all the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever and they dwell in it and have built a sanctuary in it what sanctuary the temple the temple that Solomon built and dedicated to the Lord and now he's going to quote from his great-great grandfather's prayer he's going to quote from 2nd chronicles 6 where Solomon said if disaster comes upon a sword or judgment or pestilence for famine we will stand before this temple and in your presence for your name is in this temple and we will cry out to you in our flexion and you will hear and you will say and then I like this when he prays he doesn't pray in generalities he gets very specific this is my enemy this is exactly what I'm facing in my life God and I'm gonna call on your name and let you know he says here in verse 10 and now here are the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt but they turned from them and did not destroy them here they are there rewarding us by coming to throw us out of your possession which you have given us to inherit and then verse 12 and 10 verse 12 it is a verse that you ought to have circled in your Bible yeah but I ought to have a star by this verse one of the most important verses in all of the Word of God there's 1200 our God will you not judge them for we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against this nor do we know what to do pause right there for a moment I'd like you to underline two phrases that we just read together underline the phrase we have no power and underline the phrase nor do we know what to do have you ever been there maybe you're there tonight maybe you're there right now Lord we have no power I can't fix this the lawyers can't fix it the accountants can't fix it the doctors can't fix it God this is impossible I have no power and I don't know what to do Lord I've talked to this person I've talked to that person I've talking to the other person god I've even googled it and I still don't know what to do what do you do when you have no power what do you do when you don't know what to do oh the next phrase is so great you had 100 line in and put a huge star by it we have no power and we don't know what to do but our eyes are upon you oh I love that so much Lord we're not looking at the circumstance we're not looking at the situation we're not looking at the enemies we're not like Peter out on the water and we're looking at the stormy water and about to sink now our eyes Lord are upon you dear ones when you have no power and you don't know what to do you look to the Lord look to him let your eyes go above your circumstance and your situation to the one that is ruling and reigning on high oh we have no power and we don't know what to do but our eyes are upon you when I was a little boy growing up in church we would go to our little Sunday School classes and often before we would do our lesson we would sing these little choruses and there was one course that we would sing quite often and after all these years I still remember these words they sometimes go around and round in my mind the words got any rivers you think are uncrossable got any mountains you can't tunnel through God specializes in the things thought impossible and he can do for you what no one else can do what do you do when it seems like everything is against you what do you do when your world falls apart what do you do when enemies rise up against you what do you do you go to the house of the Lord and you begin to call out to him in prayer and notice if you will where's fifteen or verse thirteen now all Judah and with their little ones and their wives and their children they stood before the Lord do you see it are you there they're in trouble and so they go to the house of God and there they are young and old men and women the wives the children - just all standing there in the house of the Lord calling out to God in prayer Oh Lord we're in trouble we're really in trouble please hear us lord please rescue us please save us please deliver us if there ever was a moment they needed to hear from God it was in that moment and all of a sudden they heard from God the third thing that happens in this story is jehosophat's promise that's what we see in verse 14 through nineteen there they are they're all waiting on the Lord in prayer in verse 14 says then the Spirit of the Lord came on jzo the son of Zachariah the cinah benaiah the son of jail the son of man Tenaya a Levite of the sons of Asaph in the midst of the assembly and he said listen all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem in you O king jehoshaphat verse 14 again the Spirit of the Lord came on jahaziel now perhaps many of you have a good question tonight and that is the question who in the world is jahaziel I mean i-i've heard of Elisha I've heard of Elisha I've heard of Jeremiah and Isaiah in a zekiel and Daniel is Zechariah but jahaziel who in the world is jzl well interesting we do not hear of this prophet before this time and we do not hear of this prophet after this time he's an obscure unknown prophet but we do know what his name means the name G hey zo means our eyes are out of the Lord I find it so wonderful that when God's people are in trouble and they go to the house of the Lord and they begin to pray and they say we have no power and we don't know what to do all of a sudden the Spirit of God comes on this ordinary servant that nobody knows whose name means our eyes are on the Lord and he begins to prophesy the Word of God to the people and he says in verse 15 listen all you Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and you King Jehoshaphat thus says the Lord do not be afraid or dismayed because of this multitude underline that phrase do not be afraid do you know that phrase occurs 103 times in the Bible you get the idea God doesn't want us to be afraid I learned on that phrase nor be dismayed that phrase is found 54 times in the Bible don't be afraid because of the enemies and then notice this phrase do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude underline this next phrase put a star by this next phrase for the battle is not yours but the Lord's dear ones I don't know what circumstance or situation you might be in tonight all I know is as I was praying and waiting on the Lord about what he wanted us to study tonight he so strongly put on my heart go to Chino Valley and have him hoping the Word of God to second chronicles 20 have them underlining their Bible we have no power we don't know what to do but our eyes are upon you have them underline the paddle is not yours but the Lord's I don't know what battle you might be facing tonight all I know is my Bible is open in front of me and the Word of God says to you the Word of God says to me whatever that battle is you're not going to have to fight it the Lord's gonna fight that battle oh I like this the battle is not yours but the Lord's tomorrow go down against them they will surely come up by the and you will find them at the end of the roof before the wilderness of Zorua and you will not need to fight in this battle position yourselves stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you right now I'd like you to circle something else in your Bible I'd like you to circle the two words stand still stand still as a student of the Bible maybe you remember those words if you've read through the Bible you've seen them before they were the exact words that God spoke to Moses when the children of Israel were in trouble you remember God brought them out of Egypt why are the 10 plagues by a mighty hand and they came down to the Red Sea and as they're camped there all of a sudden the Pharaoh changes his mind and he brings all of his horses and his chariots there bearing down on the children of Israel you talked about being in a no-win situation you talked about enemies rising up against you you talk about being between a rock and a hard place that's where they were and they begin to cry out to the Lord and God said to them stand still and watch just watch what I will do why does God allow us to get into difficult situations sometimes because he wants us to just watch what he can do so you will watch him bare his arm and fight on your behalf so you will watch him do what seems utterly impossible in your mind in your heart oh I like this he says in verse 17 stand still and see the salvation of the Lord I like this who is with you the Lord is with you as we sang tonight even when you don't see him he's working he's still working he went it seems like he's far away he's not far away he is right there with you even if you walk for the valley of the shadow of death he will fear no evil for the Lord yes with you stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you Oh Judah and Jerusalem to not fear or be dismayed tomorrow go out against them for the Lord is with you oh what a promise what a promise Jehoshaphat and the people they went to the temple of the Lord and they were waiting on the Lord in prayer they needed to hear from God and all of a sudden they didn't expect what was going to happen an unknown spokesman brought the Word of God to them faith began to rise in their hearts and verse 18 says and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord they were worshiping the Lord you see it are he are you there they were standing and the Word of God came to them and they all just started kidding down on her knees Josaphat got on his face I I don't know what he said it's not recorded for what he said I just know what I would say thank you for it thank you hey so much Lord had lost hope I didn't know what to do I was so far in over my head I just needed to know you were there god I just needed to know that you were gonna fight on my behalf thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord but then something amazing happened notice verse 19 then the Levites of the children of the Khoa fights and the children of the courts they stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with their voices lifted all of a sudden people are worshipping God and all of a sudden just spontaneously leaders started standing all over the place I just began to stand all on their own no one asked him to do it they just started to stand say why did they do that they were standing in faith they were standing on what God had promised they they were doing when the old-timers call standing on the promises see God's Word is filled with exceeding great and precious promises 2nd Peter 1 in verse 4 says the book that you're holding in your hands is not just a history book it's not just a devotional book it's not a theology book it's a promise book did you know they tell us that in the Bible there are five thousand four hundred sixty-seven promises have a word for that Wow Wow and those exceeding great and precious promises or for you there for me as I never read the Bible without a pen in your hand I always read the Bible with a pen in hand and I'm always asking about Lord you to speak to me from your word and you know maybe you're in a financial difficulty and all of a sudden you come on philippians 4 and verse 19 and my god will supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus I write in the margin action we thank you Lord that was for me that one's for me maybe you're facing a health crisis or circumstance or situation that's beyond you and maybe you come across Exodus 15 and verse 26 where God says I am the Lord that healeth thee oh oh thank you Lord so much there's your word to me maybe you're a mom at home with little kids running all over the place and you are just bone tired and weary all of a sudden you come on Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31 those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength at man up with wings like you they'll run and not be weary they'll walk and not faint Oh Lord thank you so much that one's for me you're reading along and you're in a tough place and all of a sudden your eyes land on psalm 46:1 the Lord is my refuge and strength a very present help in trouble as you read the Bible look for those promises and when you find those promises stand on those promises like an old hymn called standing on the promises and the hymn writer wrote standing on the promises I cannot fall listening every moment to the spirits call resting in my Savior as my all in all standing on the promises of God standing on the promises I cannot fail when the howling storms of doubt and fear sail by the Living Word of God I shall prevail standing on the promises of God the course says standing standing standing on the promises of God my Savior standing standing I'm standing on the promises of God this is exactly what the people of God were doing so many centuries ago but there's a fourth and final thing that we see in this story and that is Jehoshaphat's plan so what we see in verse 22 22 and it is one of the craziest plans you can ever imagine verse 20 so they arose early in the morning and they went out into the wilderness of Toccoa and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said hear me o Jerusalem and you inhabitants of Munir me o Judah and you and Abbess of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God and you will be established believe in his prophets and you will prosper underline that twice you see it there believe in the Lord and believe in his prophets what's that the Word of God so Joe Haas effect gets all the people together and he says God spoken to us and we're gonna believe God and we're gonna believe the Word of God so much so that verse 21 says and when he had consulted with the people he appointed those who would sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of his holiness and they went out before the army they were singing praise the Lord His mercy endures forever that was his plan now that's the craziest plan I ever heard of I don't know if you would have been alive at that time whether you would like to have been one of the singers out in the front facing all the swords and spears and all of that it's the choir that won a war why they understood there was great power in praising the Lord in the circumstance in situation that you're in Martin Luther had wrote a great hymn a mighty fortress is our God in that hymn he says and though this world would Devils filled should threaten to us undo us we will not fear for God his will his truth to triumph through us the Prince of Darkness grim we tremble not for him his rage we can't endure for lo his due is sure one little word one little song by the believer shall fill him like a song we sometimes saying called I raise a hallelujah hi raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah louder than my unbelief I raise a hallelujah my weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah heaven to fight for me Jehoshaphat knew what to do just begin to worship the Lord just begin to praise the Lord and unlike his doing this because it shows he really believes God God said stand still and you'll see my salvation and Jehoshaphat believed that they didn't take up swords they didn't take up spears they didn't seek out other armies to help them they just stood still with the praise of God on their lips knowing that what God had promised he would be faithful to do well what happened as they began to raise their hallelujah verse 22 says now when they began to sing the moment they began to sing and praise the Lord the Lord set ambushes the hebrew literally reads and butchers probably angelic hosts from the god of Angel armies come to fight for the children of Israel they said ambushers against the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who had come against Judah and they were defeated and verse 27 says and they returned every man of Judah in Jerusalem with Joseph at in front of them to go back to Jerusalem notice with joy such joy for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies God had fought for his people God had won the victory they had believed in the Lord and he did what seemed utterly impossible to them and what God did for them he can do for you he can do for me but I was growing up my precious mama used to sing around the house all the time she was doing the housework and she would sing song in that song and song that you're probably saying more than anything was a little song called faith in God she would sing faith in God can move a mighty mountain faith in God can calm a troubled sea faith in God can make the desert like a fountain faith in God will bring the victory it brought the victory for Jehoshaphat and the people of God and God will bring the victory for you and for me dear ones as we gathered together tonight I don't know what's happening in your life I don't know your circumstance in your situation I just know that as I was praying about what to share with you the Lord with this passage on my heart so much go over to Chino Valley and remind them when you have no power and you don't know what to do put your eyes on the Lord go over there and remind them fear not nor be dismayed because the Lord is with you go over there and remind him stand still and see the salvation of the Lord go over there and remind them that the battle is the Lord's dear ones I've come with a good message for you tonight no weapon formed against God's people he's ever gonna prosper dear ones I've come with a good message for you tonight that have got us for you there's nobody who can ever be against you I've come with a good message tonight the battle is the Lord's can we give our King a great applause tonight because the battle belongs to him [Applause]

Channel: Calvary Chapel Chino Valley

Views: 395

Rating: 4.7142859 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, Pastor David Rosales, cccv, Church, Teaching, Worship, God, Christians, Bible Study, Jesus, A Jesus People Community, Calvary Chapel Chino Valley, Larry Powers

Id: 0dDoMON1gqk

Length: 46min 24sec (2784 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 13 2020