God will fight for you.
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5 words that should mean everything
15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
Background
a very large army is approaching Jerusalem and it looks like Jerusalem is certainly doomed . . . death at worst, and slavery at best are staring them in the face
the king and the city have responded by turning to the Lord God to help
And in response, God sends this message through one of the temple workers
and the first thing we see is that . . .
serious prayer gets serious results
what makes prayer serious?
it’s hard to explain, but deep down you already know, you know when it’s serious
serious prayers have a different tone
sense of urgency, come from a place of real humility, feeling of desperation
just like we know the difference when someone wants to talk to us and someone wants to TALK TO US
when a friend says, “bro, we gotta talk”
we understand that they want to talk, but we also understand that it’s not serious
so re respond: what’s going on “wicha”, what’s up
vs, “brother, I really need to talk to you about something”
we can sense that this is serious
response: ok, I’m listening . . . sit down . . . close the door
same thing with prayer, sometimes we are serious and sometimes . . . . we are not that serious
sometimes our prayers are more habit or like good luck charms than serious
we’ve said the words so much, that we don’t think about the meaning
Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep . . .
it took me a long time before I realized, I was talking about dying in my sleep
because I wasn’t taking what I was saying seriously
Lord’s prayer - “Our Father which are in heaven . . . “
say that whole prayer not even realizing that we have praised God
asked God to take over
ask God to just give us what we need today
told God that we messed up and we’re sorry
told God we are going to forgive everyone who has done us wrong
told God to stop us from sinning
but we need to understand that SERIOUS prayers get serious results
Hannah type of prayer - she was praying that God would bless her to conceive a child.
She prayed so hard, that her lips were moving but she made no sound
she prayed so hard that the preacher thought she was a drunk woman
she responded to the preacher, I am not drunk, but I have poured out my soul to the Lord . . . she was serious
and God not only blessed her with a child who became a great prophet, he blessed her with many children
And in this situation, there was some serious prayer
they had fasted and prayed apart from each other
then they gathered together to pray - some even came from out of town
everybody was there, not just officials, military, but civilians, with wives, children, and infants - no one will be in the nursery today for this is serious
and then the king led them in prayer
he didn’t say, “if someone up there is listening . . .”
No, if you go back and read verses 6-12 of this chapter you will see things like
you are alone are God in heaven
you are the ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth
you are powerful and mighty
you’ve helped us in the past
you promised to help us in the future
we are praying according to your word
we are powerless, we don’t know what to do
but we are looking to you
serious prayer!
and if you are in serious trouble, and have done some serious prayer, I have good news for you!
serious prayer gets serious results!
and some of you are only a serious prayer away from God moving on your behalf
do whatever you need to do to get serious
if you need to cut your phone off and go to a quiet place
if you need to listen to some Christian music first, to get your mind focused
if you need to get on your knees
if you need to lie prostrate on the floor
get serious because serious prayer gets serious results
Like i mentioned earlier, the Lord gave an answer though one of the Levites, a church worker
Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude
if you have been serious about prayer, the word is do not fear or be dismayed
even though you are facing a great multitude . . . of problems
even though you are in serious trouble
even though things don’t look good right now
can’t see your way out or through
you don’t have to be afraid, terrified, or panicked or dismayed
and a simple reason is given
for the battle is not yours but God’s
God has heard your prayer and he is going to handle everything personally
so don’t be afraid because the outcome will not depend . . .
upon you and your resources
or what you can figure out
or the number of allies you can gather
because you won’t even have to fight . . . form the battle is not yours but God’s
at first, it was you vs this army . . . but now it’s God vs this army
it’s no longer you facing your many troubles . . . .
it was you dealing with many problems . .
yesterday it was you fighting your enemies
so do not fear or be dismayed for the battle is not yours but God’s
preacher, if the battle is not mine anymore, what am I to do?
17 ‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”
station yourself . . . stand and see the salvation of the Lord
in other words, position yourself to watch God fight
the Texas A&M football team played the Arkansas football team last night
and thousands of fans poured into the Dallas Cowboy stadium in Arlington
and what was the conversation among the fans?
“I think we can take them”
“I believe we have a good shot at winning”
“I’m feeling good about our chances”
don’t miss the power behind these simple statements
These words came from people who were about to WATCH the game
they would not have to run, tackle, get hit, or sweat . . .
yet they used the word “we” so freely
“I think we can take them”
“I believe we have a good shot at winning”
if their team won, though they never even touched the field, they will say, “we won!”
they were driving but we stopped them
we were behind, but then we drove down the field and scored
we played a good game tonight
Why? because they believe that their team fights for them
I can’t catch those fast dudes, but there are some young men on my side who can
I can’t block those big dudes, but there are some young men on my side who can
and since their team fights for them, they came to Arlington, Texas, to station themselves, stand, and see
And since God fights for us, some words should flow freely from our lips too
We win in the end!
We have the victory!
We shall overcome!
I can say those things, because I believe that God fights for us
I can’t handle that problem, but I know God who can
I can’t fix that issue, but I know a God who can
that thing is too tough for me, but if God be for us who can be against us
and just like fans go to the stadium to station themselves, stand, and see
we can come to the house of the Lord to station ourselves, stand, and see the salvation of the Lord! . . . . .
and since the fans at a football game are not on the field fighting, what do they do? The serious fans
they clap, yell, cheer, encourage!
at college games they sing
and the bigger the moment, the more they get into it, everybody stands up
and since God is fighting for you . . .
I say to the serious Christians, that you ought to be clapping, shouting, singing, praising. . . and the bigger the moment, the more you should get into it
if someone were to ask you, why do you always get so into it at church, why do you keep standing up in church?
“it’s a big moment, and God is fighting for me! . . . I am standing to see the salvation of the Lord!”
21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
The king told everyone to put their trust in the Lord
and then they decided to put singers in front of the army
Why?
because God had told them that the army would not have to fight
the only thing left to do is cheer
so they cheered God on by faith by singing a song about the Lord
KJV = Praise the LOrd, for his mercy endureth forever
22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.
and when the singing began, when the praising began . . . the Lord began to fight
long story short . . . the enemy turned on each other
this army made up of three nations, two nations turned against the third
and then the two nations left, turned on each other . . . and God caused them to destroyed themselves
and the people of Judah got to pick up the spoils of war without even fighting
if you are serious about this thing, God will fight for you
Moses told the people before crossing the Red Sea, the Lord will fight for you
David told Goliath, the battle is the Lord’s
Our biggest enemy is death
Our biggest enemy is death
i hate death so. . . thinking about Bro. Westbrook
we miss his personality, support, work at church, service in helping members get to church, finances
But Jesus fought for us
he took the whip, slaps, crown of thorns, nails . . . . .
he even died on the battle field for us
and just like your QB takes a vicious hit, and you know it’s over, if he can’t play
guess what, Jesus got up!
jesus fought, and we won!
the least I can do is praise Him