God Blesses the Faithful...When We Obey God He Gives Us Victory

Anchor...

Ruth 1:16 MEV

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.

Jehoshaphat was King that loved God and followed His ways. Because he was obedient he was able to lead the people well and had success in many battles.

King Jehoshaphat Found out that he had enemies planning to destroy him and Judah. This would be one of the toughest circumstances to lead through. He became fearful, but chose to trust the Lord!

Fasting And Prayer Works

2 Chronicles 20:1–7 MEV

After that, the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. And some came and declared this to Jehoshaphat, “A large multitude is coming against you from across the Dead Sea from Edom; and observe, they are in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah was assembled to seek the Lord; even from all the cities of Judah, they came to obtain aid from the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new courtyard, and he said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are strength and might, and there is no one who can oppose You. Did You not, our God, drive out those who lived in this land before Your people Israel, and You gave it perpetually to the descendants of Abraham, who was in covenant love with You.

Because he trusted the Lord he chose to fast, not just himself but all of Judah gathered to fast. Fasting is a effective way to draw close to the Lord. Generally when we fast it’s from food, but can be a material object. Some are not physically able to sacrifice food, so you may have to choose something different. The point is the Kings back is against the wall and he chooses to trust the Lord.

Something else you see here is the way he begins to pray. He’s reminding the Lord of all His great works and commitment to His people.

Humility Works

James 4:6 MEV

But He gives more grace. For this reason it says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God loves a humbled heart! The GOOD King confesses to the Lord that they don’t know what to do against such a attack. If they had pretended to know what to do, God would have resisted them, but because they humbled themselves they would hear from the Lord.

Strange Commands

2 Chronicles 20:12–18 MEV

O our God, will You not render judgment on them? For we have not strength enough to stand before this great army that is coming against us. And we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are on You.” Now all of Judah was standing before the Lord, even their infants, wives, and children. And in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the line of Asaph. And he said, “Pay attention all Judah, and those dwelling in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them. They will travel up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the back of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel. It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict. Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Tomorrow, go out before them, and the Lord will be with you.” Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship Him.

They have fasted and sought the Lord. The Lord answers and it’s something strange. Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. I believe this would be difficult for any of us. Humility gives up control. Humility admits to powerlessness. Humility knows the battle is not yours to fight! It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict. Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Do nothing, just stand!

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

1 Samuel 15:22–23 MEV

Samuel said, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, a listening ear than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

Sometimes, the things the Lord will ask of us seems strange. A massive army is coming to destroy you…just stand! Pride will say fight, humility will trust. Remember, faith isn’t moved by what we see and feel. Faith is moved by what we know, so fire up the worship team!!!

2 Chronicles 20:20–26 MEV

So they rose up early in the morning and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be supported. Believe His prophets, and you will succeed.” And he consulted with the people and then appointed singers for the Lord and those praising Him in holy attire as they went before those equipped for battle saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were defeated. Then the Ammonites and Moabites stood up against those dwelling from Mount Seir to destroy and finish them. Then when they made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each man attacked his companion to destroy each other. And Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, and they turned to the vast army and saw only corpses lying on the ground. And no one was spared. Then Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather their plunder, and they found among them an abundance of riches with the corpses, and precious jewelry, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much to carry. On the fourth day they gathered at the Valley of Berakah, because there they blessed the Lord. For this reason people have called the name of this place the Valley of Berakah until this day.

Obedience Leads To Victory

Judah’s obedience led to a great victory. Just as the Lord had said, they didn’t even have to fight. They sang and the Lord fought and a battle was won that day.

Just imagine the battle that takes place when you worship and you didn’t have to do anything but stand and sing!

2 Chronicles 20:29–30 MEV

And it happened that the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands who heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.

Maybe your in here today and been fighting some battles that aren’t yours to be fighting. It is time to embrace that humility that the Lord loves and admit that you just don’t know what to do anymore. Maybe it is time to give the fight to Him to finish. If peace is what you desire, you’re going to have to be obedient to what you know.