When All Else Fails

Welcome/Prayer/ Introduction

Good Morning Church!

We are going to take a break from Romans this week and look at an inspiring and encouraging story form the OT. My hope is that God would use this story to speak to us and transform us!

Prayer: God, you are faithful above all else. Never once have you left us. Lord, I pray that you meet us where we are this morning. That your Spirit would be present, that your Word may be piercing, Jesus be glorified. I pray that my words and the meditations of my heart be pleasing and acceptable in your sight God.

Introduction:

We all face struggles and battles!

Often I face feeling of inadequacy or even doubt. I shared a few weeks ago that I have been facing a serious amount of discouragement lately.

What are struggles and battles you face this morning? What are some things that you carry with you today?

Fear

Doubt

Addiction

Financial hardship

Family issues

Difficult decisions

Mistrust

Anger.

What are some things we face? Anyone want to share?

big or small! We all are facing something!

What battles are we facing as a church? -Covid -Small numbers -transition issues

How do we respond when we are struggling or in the midst of a battle?

Do we try to face it alone? My immediate reaction is to try to solve a problem or come up with something I can do. Its in our DNA as Americans in many ways.

We are often like a child in a sandbox:

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. He pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. He was a very small boy and this was a very large rock. When he got it to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall. Determined the little boy pushed, shoved and pried but every time he thought he had made progress the rock fell back into the sandbox. Again the little boy pushed and shoved until he smashed his chubby fingers and burst into tears of frustration.

Dad, watching from inside saw the drama unfold, and ran out when the boy began to cry. The boy sobbed and said, “I cant get it out Dad!

Dad, why didnt you use all the strength I had? Boy- But I did!

Dad- you had me this whole time, but you didnt ask me?

How often do we do this with God? Face something ourselves to the point of frustration and despair, but forget that we have God?

Transition: In Chron 20, we will see God’s people face an impossible situation. I want to really focus on how they respond to the battle before them. We might just learn from their example! Turn in your bibles to 2 Chron 20 and follow along!

First, how many bibles say, “Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon” in the title? I want to you cross out Jehoshaphat and write God! Dont worry the title isnt in the original text, We added that later!

Scripture Speaks to Us!: A story about who God is!

Context: Before we jump into the story I want us to get an idea of whats going on in the passage. Jehoshaphat discovers he is about to be attack by 3 people groups. Each group is bad enough on their own, but they have come together.

Not only have they joined forces, but they are almost at Jerusalem’s front door! (Slide of Map)

Jehoshaphat becomes afraid, with Good reason, but he doesnt let that fear control him! Look at what he does! vs 3, He seeks the Lord along with every person in Judah.

Now, if you heard there were people coming to kill you, what would your response be?

Fight or run, it probably wouldn’t be to stay put and pray! But the king trust God and Jehoshaphat knows God’s Listens.

First thing we learn from this story is that God listens to his peoples prayer.

I was taught growing up that I should be careful what I say and that I should not use bad language because God is always listening! Yet, sometimes that is actually detrimental because the focus becomes on not speaking to God instead of speaking Good things to Him.

God doesnt just hear the vile things or the swears we say, but the prayers we pray. Often, we don’t pray because we dont think God listens, but Jehoshaphat knows God listens so he gathers all the people to seek him in prayer!

People sometimes say, well I dont know what to pray or how to pray? Jehoshaphat gives us an example, he talks about the way that God has shown up in the lives of Isreael.

This is not for God’s sake, but the peoples. I think we can learn from this too! We need to spend more time in our prayers declaring what God has Done!

Let’s practice this, What has God done for our church family over the years? How has he been with us and protected us?

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer- Read verses 6-12. Listen to what the King prays.

I want to draw your attention to vs 9- Slide.

Can we pray with that same confidence? no matter what: we will stand in your presence and cry out. We need to develop that kind of prayer life! Thats why we are doing this prayer initiative and Holy Week, because God listens and hears our prayers. But, prayer also changes us!

Look at vs 12, Jehoshaphat ends his prayer with perhaps the ending possible, but in the best posture possible to. He says Lord, we have nothing and we dont know what to do, (We will figure something out)? No! BUT OUR EYES ON YOU

God doesnt just listen to His people He speaks to His People!

The Spirit of the Lord comes down on the prophet Jahaziel. Listen to what he says to the people this is so important!

Dont be discouraged!

Dont be afraid!

The battle is not yours, but mine!

You dont have to fight!

Again, dont be discouraged or Afraid

I am with you! - they dont know the outcome, but they do know who is with them!

Peter and the disciples on the boat in the storm, they were afraid of the situation, but they forgot who was with them.

When Jesus fought the ultimate battle agains sin, death, and evil on the cross- what did he say? its one of my favorite words- tetalistia- it is finished. The war is over the battle is won!

Church- What is God saying to you right now in your own battle?

Jehoshaphat follows up God’s word with another encouragement he says, listen to me have faith, and you will be upheld. Have faith, and you will be successful. He points the people to standing with God. If I can say, one thing to us this morning, its the same thing! Have faith church! Trust God and He will uphold you!

Words only matter if there is action behind them right? if I say to you Josh, Im going to give you $100, you might get excited, but if I dont follow through it’s pointless right? We have all had people make promises and then not follow through. But in this story, God not only listens, speaks, but also follows through!

God Fights for his People!

Before we get to the battle scene of this story, I want to look at how the people prepare for battle. In most movies before a big fight you see people gearing up, Lord of the Rings, Narnia. There is this intense build up!

But the people prepare with Praise not armor or weapons- They are commited to praising God before the battle even started, isnt that backwards

My jr. year, I went through a vigorous process to become discipleship Chaplin. I had done the application, I did the interview. One of my closest friends had already been accepted on the team. On the night we found out. My friend Jared and I were called by the previous team. We decided- no matter what happened we would praise the Lord.

Thats what the people in this story did!

God fights like no other!

He causes the two armies to go against the third. Then the two armies turn on each other and they kill each other. I think this story highlights a clear “battle strategy” that God uses throughout scripture.

He lets people destroy themselves.

We see this in Exodus with Egyptian army. He sends out a Pillar that clearly says do not cross. Pharoah crosses and then the Lord relinquishes his hand and allows them to be destroyed by their own decision to follow.

Paul says, that God does the same thing in Roman’s 1. Where God gave them over to their sins that would destroy them.

On the cross, we see God give himself over to the powers of sin and death. He lets himself be publically and politically executed. He lets the power of evil, death, and Rome take their best shot, but no power on earth or hell could keep Him! Amen!

Jesus fought a battle we could never win!

God does the same thing in this story. The enemies are destroyed and the people are blessed.

What do the people do in response?

They have a massive worship and praise fest. They go back to Jerusalem and praise God for what he has done!

The passage closes saying the Kingdom had peace and God gave Jehoshaphat rest on every side!

This is a powerful and inspiring story, but what does it speak to us today?

Application: Recap/ Challenge

We learned from this story that God:

Listens to our prayers- He is the best person to talk to!

Speaks- when we seek Him and dont know what to do!

Fights the battles that we cant possibly win!

Question is, How will we respond?

Will we come together as a church in persistent and focused prayer? Will we pray like the almighty Creator, the God who made the earth and all that we see. The same God who conquered sin and death is listening?

Will we praise him in the midst of our struggles?

Will we go from this place and proclaim God’s faithfulness?

We see who God is in this story, we see what He does?

Question: Who will we be and How will we respond?

Prayer Focus: God help me to see where I have tried to fight battles that are not mine to fight. Help us to see where your people have tried to fight battles by the ways of this world and this Kingdom and not Your Kingdom. God let faith be our armor in the battles that we face and prayer be the strongest weapon. Help us to surrender to you at the cross, knowing full well that the war is already won.

Benediction: Church Go in confidence that the Battle is the Lord’s! That this day, you will see God’s hand at work! Go in peace, knowing that the war is won. Go proclaiming to the world what God has done!