Mentored – How to Face a Challenge?

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students’ answers ranged from 20g to 500g.

Then he said, "It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.”

It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

Jesus gives us this invitation in Matthew to come to him — and as we come to him we will find rest. To come to Him means to trust Him. This invitation is open to those who are exhausted and burdened down

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

How often do we try to take care of things on our own... the longer we hold onto our burdens the heavier they are going to become.... The major difference between the Pharisees teaching and Jesus teaching is Jesus said “come to me” and the Pharisees said “Do something.”

we carry things and it is no wonder that we find ourselves getting tired and burnt out?

There are things that can ware us down.. responsibilities, pressures, challenges, life in general… slowly if we allow it these things can ware us down...

We are in this Series of sermons entitled, ‘mentored’ We are learning lessons from the Kings of Judah.

The kings of Judah either followed the example of their fathers who were often impacted by alliances with foreign nations and caught up idolatry … or they returned to the example of David who sought after God. They were those Kings who depended on themselves and their alliances with other nations and those who depended on God.

The kings who sought after God were faithful and those who didn’t were unfaithful and subject to retribution and judgement.

`Kings Saul’s death is attributed to his failure to seek God. David, in contrast, sought God when he brought the ark to Jerusalem. When preparing the temple, David encouraged Israel’s leaders to seek God.

What does it mean to seek after God?

Seeking the Lord means a longing for his presence. Seeking God means that we are trusting and depending on Him… We are not trying to solve issues that come along in our own strength.

Why do we need to depend on God?

Part of the reason is the environment that we are in… as Christians we are involved in a spiritual conflict… we walk in the flesh and there are spiritual forces… at work in the world...

Paul reminds the church at Corinth that battles that we are going to face in the world are not fought in the natural realm – rather need to be fought in prayer.

2 Corinthians 10:3–4 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Our walk is first in the world -- but this is not where the real battle is fought. we don’t use weapons of the world… don’t have muscle our way through things… we don’t have to push through…

but rather as we walk in the world GOD EMPOWERS US .... so we can live in victory and overcomes.

T/S How do we Depend on God?

1. RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGE WITH PRAYER

King Jehoshaphat is a great leader and reformer in Judah who brought back worship and established righteous judges. Jehoshaphat had his ups and downs. He was spiritually up most of his career as a low point was when he compromised in his alliance King Ahab--- Northern tribe (Northern king Apostate)

2 Chronicles 20:1–3 ESV

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

Jehoshaphat gets word of an imminent threat - an invading army from the direction of Transjordan, a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites. A “great multitude from Edom and beyond.”

Before this moment things are going relatively smoothly. Jehoshaphat continues to put in place good structures of government.

He has appointed priests and restored worship and righteous judges to rule in the nation... the cities have been fortified they are in good shape…

Then He gets bad news…confronted with a problem… a situation. We all know this narrative.... don’t we...

We open email …. gets that phone call … some trouble in our backyard. Pam was with a friend this past week when she learned that she lost custody of her child… difficult to comprehend.

This vast army gathered is gather at Engedi (territory of Judah) which is just 35 miles southwest of Jerusalem… it is a real problem!

WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE?

1. They were hopelessly outnumbered.

2. There were no human solutions.

3. Their plight was overwhelming.

That is a lot of weight to carry…

We can respond to problems and crisis in different ways…we can try and cover it up, we can just give up.. we deny we have a problem (Keep bleieivein.com)

Jehoshaphat’s initial response was to fear but then immediately “He set his face to seek the Lord”

In fact, the two verbs “feared and set” begin the verse in Hebrew almost as one verb.... Jehoshaphat set his face to seek the Lord...and … he calls the people from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

We already know that when Jehoshaphat tore down the high places he was courageous in the Lord… You can be a courageous person and still experience fear… It’s okay to acknowledge a threat… it is not fear but what you do with that fear.

How desperate do things need to become before we seek God.

Leonard Ravenhill , “Revival tarries because there is a lack of urgency in prayer in the church.” He went on, and said, “Hell has nothing to fear but a God anointed, prayer-powered church.

Jehosophats father King Asa --- refused to seek the Lord - even when his own leg had withered…

Soon as the threat comes - Jehosophat devoted himself to seek God’s remedy. He called his people to fast, and summoned them to Jerusalem to seek God together..

2. RESPOND TO A CHALLENGE WITH PRAISE.

A bricklayer in the French West Indies sent this letter to his boss, explaining why he needed to take some sick leave:

I arrived at the job after the storm, checked the building out and saw that the top needed repairs. I rigged a hoist and a boom, attached the rope to a barrel and pulled bricks to the top. When I pulled the barrel to the top, I secured the rope at the bottom. After repairing the building, I went back to fill the barrel with the leftover bricks. I went down and released the rope to lower the bricks, and the barrel was heavier than I and jerked me off the ground. I decided to hang on.

Halfway up, I met the barrel coming down and received a blow to the shoulder. I hung on and went to the top, where I hit my head on the boom and caught my fingers in the pulley. In the meantime, the barrel hit the ground and burst open, throwing bricks all over. This made the barrel lighter than I, and I started down at high speed. Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received a blow to my shins. I continued down and fell upon the bricks, receiving cuts and bruises. At this time I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go of the rope and the barrel came down and hit me on the head. I respectfully request sick leave.

Have you ever had a day like that? When everything went South… We take comfort that all of us have these kinds of days… When we living in Maine we locked one of our kids in car with engine running in like -10 degree weather… stuff happens..

life is full of these kinds of challenges… this are going to break, things are going to go wrong…

In the book of Acts 16 - Paul and Silas were stripped and beaten and put in the city prison. It looked like the end of their witness in Philippi, but God had other plans. Instead of complaining or calling on God to judge their enemies, the two men prayed and praise God…

Acts 16:25 ESV

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

We are told that at the midnight they were praising God and place was shaken..and God saves them… THE WORD PRAISE in the OT is halal which is connected to making a noise… an int eh NT the word is Yada - gesture of Praise… for example lifting your hand is a gesture of praise…Zamar is associated with playing instruments… Here is the thing it is easy to Praise when things are going well.

Charles Spurgeon once said.. “Any fool can sing in the day,” said .

“It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by … Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”

Spurgeon

We learn from King Jehosophat that Praise has a FOCUS..

1. Praise FOCUSES ON the Greatness of God.

2 Chronicles 20:5–6 ESV

And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

• GOD IS CONTROL.. SOVERIEGN… When you loose control… you can say with confidience God you Rule…

You rule over all kingdom and nations...

• There are somethings that happen in life where you don’t have the power… Maybe it is in the form of authority --- it affects you… you are powerless. In those situations we PRAISE BY DECLARING

In your hands are power and might --- none can stand against you.

2. Praise FOCUSES ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

2 Chronicles 20:7–9 ESV

Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

He recalls how God conquered their enemies in the past, and promised the land to the descendants of Abraham for ever.

God also promised that the temple in which they now were standing would be the place where he would hear and help in times of need. He reminds God of the covenant In times of peril the people will stand in God’s presence and cry to him, and he will hear and save.

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

3. PRAISES MOVES FROM OUR WEAKNESS TO HIS STRENGTH.

2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV

O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Faith is confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in his power, so that even when his power does not serve my end, my confidence in him remains because of who he is.—Ravi Zacharias, philosopher, apologist, and evangelist (1946-)

Praise precedes the actual answer, because the promise is believed…

Jehoshaphat encourages the people to believe, and faith is able to transform the most unlikely of places into a ‘Valley of Blessing’ (20:26; see marginal note).

3. RESPOND TO A CHALLENGE WITH THE WORD OF GOD.

In the OT the Holy Spirit would come upon the prophets for specific message.. it was means of God communicating to his people… God .. What the prophets spoke were the very words of God to Israel… they are recorded in scripture as Divine revelation… NT Prophetic gift of prophecy is proclaiming what has already been declared…It is saying it is Written… to be honest most of prophecy is really the gift of encouragement… exhortation.

There is Power in declaring in the Word of God…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God's words are identical with his actions … We humans say, "Let there be light in this room," but first we have to make sure the room has been properly wired. Then we have to walk across the room and flick a switch, or go to the cabinet and grab some matches so we can light a candle. Our words need deeds to back them up and can fail to achieve their purposes. God's words, however, cannot fail their purposes because, for God, speaking and acting are the same things.

This is what God says to Israel in the middle of their trouble…

2 Chronicles 20:15 ESV

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

GOD’S METHOD of facing Challenge

1. Don't fear or be dismayed at the problem.

The words “Do not fear” occurs 365 times in the Bible, enough for each day’s quota of fearful situations… Remember Jehosphat moved from fear to prayer to praise… now God is speaking… It’s God’s Word to the Nation… Do not be afraid… Some of us are facing something right now… The Lord is saying to you depend on me.. COME TO ME… DON’T DO A THING… REST.. MY BURDEN IS LIGHT..

a. Not your battle.

b. How beat we get trying to fight God's battles.

2. Face the issue honestly.

a. We try to run from the issue or ignore it.

I think it is human nature want to take on battles… someone just pushes your buttons… you either going to attack or go into defensive mode… Do you know how powerful it is to step back and say this in not my battle… Often God is working in the lives of the other person…

b. "The situation is overwhelming" "nothing I can do."

GOD SAYS... You will not need to fight this one..

2 Chronicles 20:17 ESV

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

3. Set yourself and stand still.

In the Bible this word “Set” comes up alot in scripture.. both in the OT and NT… It speaks of a mindset . — a mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.

Romans 8:6 ESV

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

a. Set yourself on God's promises.

b. Stand still, quit running around trying to find the answers.

Stand firm, Hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord.

The God who had parted the Red Sea had not changed in hundreds of years, and he is still the same today (cf. Isa 52:10; Zech 9:9). The assurance of God’s presence was more than a theological statement; it was to be a source of strength.

An architect and columnist for the Washington Post, Roger Lewis, wrote after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti about disaster-proofing buildings. What is so telling is how Lewis ended his article:

“In the end, it’s hard to avoid comparing Port-au-Prince and New Orleans, the former sitting atop colliding tectonic plates and the latter sitting below sea level. The comparison elicits an inescapable observation: If we could start from scratch, we would choose neither location for building a modern city, despite all our modern construction technology.”

This architect is saying it not just about how a structure stands, even more so, it’s about where that structure stands.

This architect is saying it not just about how a structure stands, even more so, it’s about where that structure stands. And our text shows where we stand is “IN the Lord.” (vs 20) All other ground is sinking sand.

That’s what the gospel is all about. We stand firm in His work and not our own. Our Warrior God squarely conquered death, and sin, and our ancient foe, THAT is the reality we now stand firm in. That Big Battle reality has everything to say about the battles we face today.

4. RESPOND TO A CHALLENGE WITH WORSHIP

‘Worship’ (Old English ‘weorthscipe’=‘worth-ship’) originally referred to the action of human beings in expressing homage to God because he is worthy of it.

There can be little doubt that the office of the Levitical musicians was of great importance to the Chronicler; a prophetic function among the temple singers of his own day is provided legitimation in the past.

2 Chronicles 20:21 ESV

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Jehoshaphat and his people were in worshipful awe upon hearing this reassurance of deliverance. Some bowed, some fell down, all giving thanks/praise to the Lord. What God does, or what His word assures He is yet to do, ought to stimulate believing hearts to magnify His name.

As they worshiped, the Lord responded to their prayers of deliverance by causing the enemy to turn upon one another.

See the salvation of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:24–25 ESV

When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.

1. He can change lives.

2. He can change attitudes.

3. Believe it or not, He can do it without your help.

4. Your getting involved is just getting in His way and slowing the victory.

God brings confusion to the enemy and they destroy themselves… Judah benefits from the spoils of war...

CONCLUSION.

In WORSHIP WE WILL DISCOVER THE Valley of Blessing...

The valley of Berachah, lit. “blessing” (modern Bible class name—Baraca) was perpetuated for the encouragement of succeeding generations to trust in God and to remind us that our praises should be as oft repeated as our prayers