The Valley of Crisis
In The Valley • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Key point: You’ve got to pray your way through and worship your way out of a crisis.
1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ” 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.
2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
A vast army is coming against you
In the situation room
50 miles away / 3 days away. (remember 3)
Best practices: 1. Pray your way through the valley. 2. Worship your way out of the valley.
3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
Alarmed / fear - Natural human response:
But you cannot let fear dictate your decisions. Faith is the process of unlearning fear.
Everyone is born with the two innate fears: falling and loud sounds. The rest are learned. Our surroundings – parents, siblings, friends, TV – teach us at a young age to be scared of things, like the dark or monsters.
Clowns in America had their roots in circuses (stop clowning around), but clowning history took a detour in the 1950s and ‘60s when the squeaky-clean Bozo and Ronald McDonald became the “Classic American default clowns” for kids.
In 1982, Poltergeist: the big moment was when the little boy’s clown doll comes to life and tries to drag him under the bed. In 1986, Stephen King wrote It, in which a terrifying demon attacks children.
Q: What scared you when you were a child? Did you grow out of that fear?
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
When we understand God’s love for us the result is - fearlessness.
When you fear God you don’t have to fear anything else.
3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
inquire of the Lord
As God’s chosen and loved people, we should not be a people of panic but a people of prayer.
Prayer should be our default.
Prayer should be our first response not our last response.
In a crisis situation, isn’t it telling on how someone respond?
Is this true or not… It is easier to act like a Christian than to react like a Christian.
What is Jehoshaphat's reaction, what is his default? Prayer.
3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
Alarmed-Lord
Alarm; an anxious awareness of danger (or) a devise to wake us up.
God might be using all that we are seeing in this world to wake us up.
What if we used anxiousness, fear, or any other human emotion as a trigger or alarm for prayer?
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We pray our way through the valley.
If you watch the nightly news all they sell is fear.
“Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” – Karl Barth
When we do this, our reality starts to conform to our theology.
When we find ourselves in a valley of crisis we need to inquire of the Lord.
Prayer is not about us outlining our agenda to God. It is about getting into God’s Word and God’s presence and allowing God’s to give us His outline and His agenda.
Prayer is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing us.
Sometimes we ask God to change the circumstances that God is using to change us. So don’t pray away the valley of crisis, pray through the valley of crisis.
We all want to experience a miracle, but we don’t want the situation that requires one. - rework
But you can’t have one without the other.
We have to walk through the valley of crisis and we’ve got to learn the lessons God has to teach us.
“Stop telling God how big your problems are and start telling your problems how big your God is.” - Joseph Simmons
Jehoshaphat sees the Crisis in the Valley and begins to declare who God is. This is so critical, no matter what valley you are in right now. You need to remind yourself of who God is.
6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.
Are you not the God who is in heaven - No one can withstand you.
7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before
Is Jehoshaphat reminding God or is he reminding himself?
8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
Name / we will stand in your presence / Name
Way maker, Miracle worker, Promise keeper, Light in the darkness
My God That is who you are.
12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
We don’t know what the future holds but we know who holds the future.
15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Prayer is the difference between us fighting for God and God fighting for us.
16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.
Tomorrow march down against them.
Q: Have you ever had God prompt you to do something you are not so sure of?
17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”
Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you
Q: Share an example of a time you went through a “Valley of Crisis” and you stood firm on God’s promises.
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.
in worship
21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
appointed men to sing - give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.
No swords or shields - He sent a worship team out ahead of the army?
What kind of a battle plan is this?
If you are in the valley of grief, the valley of pain, the valley of suffering, they way out of the valley is worship.
You have to give God the sacrifice of praise. The hardest praise is the highest praise.
Q: What is your go to song or hymn when you are going through your “Valley of Crisis”?
Blessed Be Your Name: Blessed be Your name, On the road marked with suffering, Though there's pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name.
You give and take away, God give and take away, My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name.
25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.
three days to collect it
26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.
Valley of Berakah - Hebrew word: Blessing
God took the Valley of Crisis and turned it to the Valley of Blessing.
This is who God is and this is what God does.
This does not mean there won’t be pain and suffering.
It doesn’t mean we won’t grieve, but we don’t grieve as those that have no hope.
Way Maker.
Key Idea: You’ve got to pray your way through and worship your way out of a crisis.
READ:
1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ” 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.
Small Group Questions:
What scared you when you were a child? Did you grow out of that fear?
True or false? It is easier to act like a Christian than to react like a Christian. Explain.
We were encouraged to pray through our valley of crisis. What does it mean to pray through?
What valley are you facing now that you need to pray through?
We were encouraged to worship our way out of our valley of crisis. What does it mean to worship your way out? What is your go to song or hymn when you are in your valley of crisis? Why is that the best one for you?
"You can't let fear dictate your decisions. Faith is the process of unlearning fear." In the valley you’re currently facing, what might it look like to lean more on faith than fear?
How have some of the valleys you’ve experienced shaped who you are today? How have they shaped your understanding of God?
Prayer:
Notes or additional questions: