Do It Afraid

Anyone ever been afraid? Afraid of doing the wrong thing, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Afraid of giving the wrong answer on a test, or to a question you’ve been asked, even at church? Afraid for your safety, your spouse’s safety, your children’s safety? Afraid you weren't going to have enough money to pay your bills? There are people who live in constant fear and I’m here to tell you—Do It Afraid.

LaSonja C. Richardson / General

The title of today’s message is “Do It Afraid”.

;

In our text, Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa begins his reign seeking the God of His father and because he didn’t worship Baal, God was with him and the Lord established the kingdom in his hand.

Jehoshaphat is described as having great riches and a courageous heart and he removed what they called the high places and sacred poles from Judah. He took down the false gods, idols and altars the people used to make their sacrifices to Baal. He was what we would say, sold out for God. And because he was serving God, and sending his officials out to teach the Book of the Law, the kingdoms around Judah heard about it, became afraid and to make peace they started sending him gifts. He built a massive army of mighty warriors and pretty much everyone wanted to be his friend. Of course these weren’t true friends, they wanted to partner up for preservation, for protection. You see if I’m your friend you won’t attack me and kill all my people.

Things are going well for Jehoshaphat, but then something happens, he yokes up with Ahab through a marriage alliance. Be careful who you allow in your circle. Back then men would marry off their daughters to form an alliance or partnership with other Kings, as if to say if we’re family you won’t attack and in fact, we’ll go out and fight together if the need arises.

doesn’t start out to be a good person. If you look back at chapter 18 you’ll find Jehoshaphat had yoked up with Ahab through a marriage alliance. Back then men would marry off their daughters to form an alliance or partnership with other Kings, as if to say if we’re family you won’t attack and in fact, we’ll go out and fight together if the need arises.

And that is exactly what happened. Ahab brings Jehoshaphat and his boys over for dinner and convinced Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against Ramoth-gilead. Now to his credit Jehoshaphat did tell him to ask the Lord first. So Ahab gathers his prophets together and they tell him, go God will give it into the hand of the king. In other words, go ahead, you got this, God’s going to give you the victory.

But there must have been something about their report because Jehoshaphat said, hold up, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” Is there somebody else we can ask, you know, somebody that has some credit with the Lord.

You ever asked somebody something and even though they say something that seems to favor you, there’s just something about them or what they said, or the way they said it that caused you to pause and wonder, is there someone else I can hear from, who else can I talk to?

And wouldn’t you know it Ahab says yeah, there’s someone else but I hate that guy, he never prophesies anything favorable about me, only disaster. I think there’s perhaps another word we can use here, truth. Sometimes the truth may seem like disaster to you. Anyone ever get news and it’s not good news as far as your concerned but it is the truth.

If we’re really honest with ourselves, sometimes we don’t want the truth, we just want to be in what we think is a happy place and close the outside world out, going forward with what we want to do, where we want to go, with whom we want to go there with. Except…it’s not what God has or wants for us. It’s going left when God said go right; it’s running forward when God said stand still, it’s speaking your mind or as some would like to think, your truth, when God is saying be quiet, I got this.

So there is someone else, there’s a true prophet of God and Jehoshaphat says, let’s hear from him. Meanwhile, as the kings are sitting on their thrones all decked out in their regalia, all the other prophets are giving them the same report, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

But a prophet named Micaiah is on the way and as they’re walking the messenger who went to get him starts to brief him. He says, look, here’s what everybody else is saying, everybody is telling him go and fight, he’s going to win and you need to say the same thing. But Micaiah is a true prophet of the Lord and he tells the messenger “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.” In other words, I don’t care what those men are saying, I’m going to say what God tells me to say.

Now, here’s a room full of “prophets” telling the kings to go and fight and they are going to win. The kings relied on their prophets to tell them the truth about what the Lord was saying, about what direction they should take in certain situations, especially when it came to war. So the prophets were supposed to be honest and upright men of God, with standards, who weren’t afraid of the king. They were to give wise counsel. But these prophets were yes men, whether it was because that’s what the king wanted and he relayed that message or not, that’s what was happening here.

But here’s one, who because he apparently disagreed with the others on a regular basis, we know that because in 18:7 Ahab plainly says, “…I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster”, here’s a man who isn’t afraid to be different and not go along with the crowd. He didn’t go along to get along.

So a question, if you’re in leadership, do you want people around you who are going to tell the truth or people who will just tell you what you want to hear? If you’re going to be a good leader, you better do the best you can to surround yourself with people who are going to tell you the truth. “Yes” people can cause you to make bad decisions, go in the wrong direction and possibly get you killed. Don’t let ego and pride cause you to surround yourself with “yes men and women”, get those who are not afraid to speak truth to you, even when it goes against what you or anyone else says or thinks.

And here’s what Micaiah says at first, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” Well there must have been something in the way he spoke that told the king he was just saying what the others said not what he the Lord was telling him to say because Ahab responds, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

him in a battle against God’s people on the side of Ahab, a battle in which Ahab set him up, telling him to wear his help

Then Micaiah let’s him hear it, in chapter 18:16 we see these words, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’” 17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?” 18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing to the right and to the left of him. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall (be killed) at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, 20 until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ (Now who do you suppose that was volunteering to do that?) Then the Lord said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ 22 So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Anyone ever been afraid? Afraid of doing the wrong thing, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Afraid of giving the wrong answer on a test, or to a question you’ve been asked, even at church? Afraid for your safety, your spouse’s safety, your children’s safety? Afraid you weren't going to have enough money to pay your bills? There are people who live in constant fear and I’m here to tell you—Do It Afraid.

Man, talk about a report, not only did he tell the king he was going to die, he told him God was setting him up by sending a lying spirit on all his prophets. So he called all the prophets of Ahab, liars to their face. Well that wasn’t received well, one of the prophets slapped him across the face and king Ahab put him in prison, on reduced rations of bread and water and told him he would stay there until he returned. To which Micaiah responded, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. Hear, you peoples, all of you!”

18 Then Micaiah[b] said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing to the right and to the left of him. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, 20 until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord[c] said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’

That’s the type of persons you need around you when you’re in leadership, people who are not afraid to speak truth. The key is are you willing to listen?

Cliff notes version, after that exchange, they still go to battle, and get this, Ahab tells Jehoshaphat I’m going to disguise myself, but you wear your robes. Wait—what?

In battle, the soldiers are trying to take out the leader because if the leader falls, the people will scatter, not to mention Micaiah told them he saw all Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd. The sheep were the soldiers, the shepherd was the king and you want me to wear my stuff while you disguise yourself?

But Jehoshaphat did it, he put on his kingly attire, not knowing the king of Aram had told the captains of his chariots, don’t fight with anyone small or great, only with the king of Israel.

So of course when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robes, thinking he was king Ahab, they went after him and as he was being chased he cried out to God who saved him. Meanwhile a random, no name soldier, shoots his bow and a God directed arrow hits king Ahab between his armor and breastplate, the man didn’t even know he had hit someone, let alone the king and Ahab dies at sunset that same night.

But now Jehoshaphat is in trouble with God, because Ahab was wicked and he helped him. Don’t let friendship and an alliance or agreement trump obedience to God. But isn’t it wonderful that God doesn’t throw us away when we mess up. I don’t care what you’ve done or haven’t done, sometimes we do things we shouldn’t do and sometimes we don’t do what we should do. Praise God He remembers the good and when we repent, he forgives us, he protects us and he continues to love us; when we repent. You’ve got to turn away, walk away, run away from the sin that will separate you from God.

God will not tolerate sin, oh He still loves us, He still protects us, He even still blesses us, but sin comes with consequences and don’t be fooled; God doesn’t turn a blind eye to sin, He’s long-suffering, He’s patient and He gives us the opportunity to come to Him so He can help us get it right.

Jehoshaphat came back to God, got the people going in the right direction and now, he gets this news that the Moabites, Ammonites and some of the Meunites were coming for him in battle. God sends a messenger to warn him. Jehoshaphat knows God, he has experienced God, God has saved him, God has blessed him, but when he gets the news there are people coming for him in battle he has what some might think is a strange reaction; verse 3 says Jehoshaphat was afraid.

Am I talking to anybody out there? You know God, you’ve experienced God, God has done great things in your life, yet something happens and now you’re afraid, he’s given you an assignment and you’re afraid. I’m here to tell you today, don’t beat yourself up, don’t get down on yourself and don’t feel like you are the only one; I’m here to tell you do it afraid. Whatever God has given you to do, whatever has come up and you’re afraid to move forward—do it afraid.

Moses was afraid to go to Pharaoh — but he did and the children of Israel were freed

Abram was afraid to say Sarai was his wife and God still made him the father of many nations

Gideon was afraid — but he went with 300 men, rams horns, empty pitchers, and lamps and defeated the Midianites

Peter was afraid to admit he knew Jesus but he still preached on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 souls were added to the kingdom of God

You have to know you can do what it is God has called you to do and you can do it afraid, but here’s the good news God is with you and just like he told them then, he’s telling you now, “do not fear”. This counsel occured 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year.

Whatever God is telling you to do, do it afraid. Fear is not always a bad thing, fear can keep you from danger. You don’t believe me, walk up on a rattlesnake.

But what’s important is Jehoshaphat’s reaction to the fear. Verse three continues and says, “he set himself to seek the Lord,”. When you find yourself afraid, seek the Lord, listen for His direction and do it, even if you’re afraid. Do it afraid.

The situation may never be ideal, do it anyway.

You will never get yourself together—come to church anyway.

The children will never be faultless—love them anyway

You’ll never get everything perfect for the program—continue anyway

If you wait for everything to be perfect, if you wait until you’re feeling it, if you wait until everything is in place, if you wait until all your ducks are in a row... you’ll never go, you’ll never do it, whatever it is and you’ll never succeed. Go, even if you’re afraid, do it afraid, start school, even if you’re afraid, trust that God’s got you and if He gave it to you to do, He won’t let you fail He won’t let you fall.

Jehoshaphat’s assignment was to gather the people and call for a fast and the people responded. This thing doesn’t work if everyone’s not invested, it takes all of us to do this. It takes everyone doing their part for the ministry to move forward, for the ministry to succeed. Success for a ministry is not necessarily defined by the number of people in the seats or the amount of money in the offering.

How do you measure success in ministry?

Are the people growing spiritually,

are they becoming mature Christians,

are they more confident in their walk with Christ and operating in their spiritual gifts

are they more comfortable witnessing to others,

are they more committed to prayer,

are they coming to Bible study consistently

are they hungering for the Word of God

are they faithful in studying on their own and meditating on the Word of God?

are they trusting God to meet their needs or are they still try to work everything on their own

or are they still try to work everything on their own

Success in ministry is measured in many ways. You just keep coming, keep responding, keep praying, keep working and watch God keep blessing…because at the end of the day the good news is, that battle you’re in is not for you to fight. Take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf. Don’t fear, don’t be dismayed, do it afraid and watch God fight your battle.

In the Old Testament the Spirit of the Lord rested on people for a season, but praise God, because of what Jesus did for us, we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of us always. Always leading us in the right direction, giving the right words to say, telling us when to just stand still, or be quiet or pray. When you are in tune with the Holy Spirit, you don’t have to worry, oh it’s going to happen sometimes, things will come upon all of a sudden and before you have time to think, fear or worry or doubt will invade your mind like a cancer, but when you come to yourself, you can speak to your mountain and

you can tell your mountain—I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

you can tell your mountain—greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world

you can tell your mountain—I am a person of wisdom and prudence

The title of today’s message is “Do It Afraid”.

you can tell your mountain—I am a new creation

tell your mountain—I am renewed in the spirit of my mind

tell your mountain—I am more than a conqueror, I am an overcomer

tell your mountain—I am victorious, I am strong, I am a winner

Because if you look at the last chapter of the book, you’ll see that we win. The called out, set apart, sanctified, saints of God win the war between good and evil, oh Satan my win a battle here or there, but thanks be to our all powerful God, He wins the war.

If you look closely, what you’ll find is that so many of those we would call heroes in the Bible were afraid. They didn’t start off as the brave people who did great things for God, they simply made themselves available and did things for a great God. Did you catch that. Don’t spend your time trying to do great things for God, spend your time doing things for a GREAT God.

We serve a mighty and awesome God who loves us in spite of our sins, our faults and our failures. God chose you before the beginning of time; he loved you before you were you; and he sent his Son to die for your sins, even before you committed them. He did all that just so you would have the opportunity to choose Him.

There’s a war that’s raging and there’s a winning side and a losing side, who’s side are you on? And believe me you have to choose and you have to choose for yourself, no one can do this for you. We can pray for you, but you will have to choose God for yourself.

Salvation is your choice, it’s a gift God has placed before you and if you’ve never accepted that gift, if you’ve never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, today is a good day. You may be nervous, you may even be afraid, choose God anyway, do it afraid and when you do, you don’t have to be afraid any longer, because He will fight your battle for you, whatever your battle is

Copeland, Germaine. Prayers That Avail Much Commemorative (p. 110). Harrison House LLC. Kindle Edition.

Copeland, Germaine. Prayers That Avail Much Commemorative (p. 109). Harrison House LLC. Kindle Edition.

In our text, Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa begins his reign seeking the God of His father and because he didn’t worship Baal, God was with him and the Lord established the kingdom in his hand.

Salvation

Copeland, Germaine. Prayers That Avail Much Commemorative (p. 109). Harrison House LLC. Kindle Edition.

Jehoshaphat is described as having great riches and a courageous heart and he removed what they called the high places and sacred poles from Judah. He took down the false gods, idols and altars the people used to make their sacrifices to Baal. He was what we would say, sold out for God. And because he was serving God, and sending his officials out to teach the Book of the Law, the kingdoms around Judah heard about it, became afraid and to make peace they started sending him gifts. He built a massive army of mighty warriors and pretty much everyone wanted to be his friend. Of course these weren’t true friends, they wanted to partner up for preservation, for protection. You see if I’m your friend you won’t attack me and kill all my people.

Membership

Things are going well for Jehoshaphat, but then something happens, he yokes up with Ahab through a marriage alliance. Be careful who you allow in your circle. Back then men would marry off their daughters to form an alliance or partnership with other Kings, as if to say if we’re family you won’t attack and in fact, we’ll go out and fight together if the need arises.

Rededication

And that is exactly what happened. Ahab brings Jehoshaphat and his boys over for dinner and convinced Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against Ramoth-gilead. Now to his credit Jehoshaphat did tell him to ask the Lord first. So Ahab gathers his prophets together and they tell him, go God will give it into the hand of the king. In other words, go ahead, you got this, God’s going to give you the victory.

But there must have been something about their report because Jehoshaphat said, hold up, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” Is there somebody else we can ask, you know, somebody that has some credit with the Lord.

You ever asked somebody something and even though they say something that seems to favor you, there’s just something about them or what they said, or the way they said it that caused you to pause and wonder, is there someone else I can hear from, who else can I talk to?

And wouldn’t you know it Ahab says yeah, there’s someone else but I hate that guy, he never prophesies anything favorable about me, only disaster. I think there’s perhaps another word we can use here, truth. Sometimes the truth may seem like disaster to you. Anyone ever get news and it’s not good news as far as your concerned, but it is the truth.