Sermon Tone Analysis

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Scripture Introduction: Jehoshaphat was Asa’s son, and overall was a good king of Judah.

We find his reign mentioned throughout .

He begins his kingdom by removing the pagan worship from the land and he commissions the priests to teach the Law of Moses throughout the towns of Judah.

Jehoshaphat was certainly not perfect…He made a grave mistake by making an alliance with the wicked King Ahab.

To make a long story short, God’s judgment falls on Ahab and the prophet Jehu rebukes Jehoshaphat for his poor decision.

Jehoshaphat begins making better decisions, both governmentally and spiritually (The Bible Guide).

In , Jehoshaphat and his people are faced with a grave military threat.

They find themselves as the target of military aggression by their enemies on the Eastern border—the Moabites and the Ammonites.

What are they to do? Jehoshaphat makes some very interesting decisions as they are faced with insurmountable odds.

Introduction: The information God includes in His Word about this event are intended to be far more than a history lesson or information to use in a Bible trivia game.

This information is recorded in God’s Word for our benefit!

There are times in our lives, when we too are faced with insurmountable dilemmas.

There are times in our lives when we feel as if we are surrounded by enemy forces and we do not know what to do, where to turn, or how to respond.

Many times in my life, when I have been faced with these types of feelings, I often “go with my gut.”

More often than not, my decisions during times like these have only made the situation worse than it was to begin with.

When we are faced with a dilemma that leaves us with feelings of being punched in the gut, or when we feel like we are surrounded with problems and insurmountable odds, we are prone to act without thinking, make split-second decisions without praying, and depend upon our own ingenuity or the bad advice of well meaning friends.

However, I believe there is MUCH to learn from Jehoshaphat’s response that can help US know “WHAT TO DO WHEN WE DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO.”

Notice Jehoshaphat’s response in :

Seek God’s Face and His Help, FIRST

Explanation: The FIRST thing Jehoshaphat did was to seek God’s face and to seek God’s help!

The phrase “set his face” is also translated “determined” or “resolved.”

Nothing was going to stand in his way of seeking the Lord.

He was determined to look to God about this matter and find out what God wanted him to do!

His determination is seen in his proclamation of a fast throughout all of Judah.

Don Green says this about fasting:

...fasting in the Old Testament expressed a mournful, urgent seeking of God in distressing circumstances...Greatly distressed and conscious of their utter helplessness, they suspended their normal eating habits in an urgent, extraordinary seeking of God who alone could deliver them from their distress...In other words, their fasting naturally flowed from profound spiritual urgency.

It was not the product of routine spiritual ritual.

It expressed deep dependence on God in times of uncommon anguish...Fasting was an outward expression of the inward reality of a shattered heart.

It was an urgent response of repentance and great humility.

It was the seeking of deliverance from a gracious God in profoundly desperate situations.

(https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B110107/)

When Jehoshaphat led the way by his example, and called for a fast, the people responded by coming together from all over Judah to do the same.

They fasted, they prayed, and they urgently sought for God’s intervention in their situation.

Illustration:

Application: Too often, as bad as I hate to admit it, I neglect to seek God’s face and His help, FIRST!

It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that many of us in this room have the very same problem.

When we are faced with overwhelming circumstances, difficult decisions, agonizing problems, insurmountable odds . . .

far too often God is turned to AFTER we have exhausted every other option, and many times after we have made the situation far worse than it was previously.

Application: Too often, as bad as I hate to admit it, neglect to seek God’s face and His help, FIRST!

It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that many of us in this room have the very same problem.

When we are faced with overwhelming circumstances, difficult decisions, agonizing problems, insurmountable odds . . .

far too often God is turned to AFTER we have exhuasted every other option, and many times after we have made the situation far worse than it was previously.

God MUST be TOP priority in our lives.

Over and over again Scripture reminds us that He is to have FIRST place!

Seeking Him FIRST, is not only important, but it will save us much grief and regret.

Here are just a few examples of from Scripture of our responsibility to seek God...

Illustration:

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In we are warned against worrying about the everyday necessities of life.

In contrast Jesus commanded in these words:

The FIRST thing we need to do when we don’t know what to do…and EVERYDAY for that matter…is to SEEK GOD FIRST!

As they seek the Lord, Jehoshaphat begins to pray and in versse 5-6 He begins to . . .

Praise God for Who He Is

Explanation: Jehoshaphat begins his prayer with the simple phrase, “O Lord.”

The Hebrew word used for Lord here, is “Yahweh” and it refers to God’s “self-existence.”

It recognizes God’s eternality.

John Piper says there are several things the name Yahweh tells us about WHO God is:

It reminds us that God never had a beginning.

It reminds us that God will never have an end.

God is absolute reality.

God is utterly independent.

Everything that is not God, depends totally upon God.

All the universe, compared to God is nothing.

God is constant.

He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

God is the absolute standard of truth and goodness and beauty.

(http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/10-things-yahweh-means)

Don’t just gloss over the phrase, “O Lord.”

When Jehoshaphat said, “O Lord” he was saying a mouthful!

He was recognizing WHO God was and he was praising Him for it!

God does whatever He pleases

Then he says, “God of our fathers.”

The name for “God” in the Hebrew is “Elohim.”

Gotanswers.org says, “The basic meaning behind the name Elohim is one of strength or power … Elohim is the infinite, all-powerful God who shows by His works that He is the creator, sustainer, and supreme judge of the world.”

Just think a moment what Jehoshaphat has said, just by uttering these two words: Yahweh and Elohim!

He has recognized the Self-existent, Creator of the universe!

That is WHO he is talking to.

That is WHO he is depending upon.

That is WHO he is praying to and praising!

Then He begins to reflect even more upon who God is in verse 6.

Illustration: When you first met the love of your life you knew very little about them.

You may have heard about them, you may have heard what other people had to say about them, but it was only until you met them, and spent time with them, and sat down and talked with them, that you came to really know them.

You came to know their strengths and weaknesses.

You came to know their mannerisms.

You came to know their habits.

You came to know what you could depend upon them for.

You went beyond knowing them on a surface level and you came to know them on a deep, personal level.

Application: I believe one of the reasons we do not depend upon God like Jehoshaphat depended upon God is because we do not take the time and effort to know God and to praise God for WHO HE IS!

We cannot praise God for WHO HE IS if we do not TAKE THE TIME to get to know WHO HE IS! Theology is the study of God.

It is the study of WHO GOD IS! Theology, correctly understood, is not boring, but exciting!

We are getting to KNOW the Creator of the universe!

We learn His strengths and we find He has no weaknesses.

We learn He is faithful.

We learn He is dependable.

We learn He is powerful.

We learn He is the Great I Am.

The more we know Him, the more we love Him.

The more we know Him the more we will want to praise Him!

When you come to a place in your life, just STOP and take the time to PRAISE GOD FOR WHO HE IS!

Not who He used to be, not Who He will become, but for WHO HE IS…Because He is the same yesterday, today and forever!