07-17-2022 - The Lord is God of the Hills and Valleys

OPENING

Introduction

We serve an all-powerful, ever-present, God who has never lost a battle and will never lose a battle. We may face the schemes of the devil and we may even feel like at times we are outnumbered and outmatched by the enemy. However, the truth is, if you are a child of God, you have a power dwelling on the inside of you that is greater than anything the enemy of our souls or this world can throw at us. The Lord is God of the hills and the valleys. God is greater than the highs and lows. God is stronger than the ups and downs. There is no opposition too great, no power to strong, no mountain too high, no valley too deep, that our God cannot and will not overcome for us!

Summary of 1 Kings 20

Ahab is king of Israel in Samaria.

Benhadad, the king of Syria, comes to fight against Israel.

He sends messengers to King Ahab and says:

I’m coming to take your wives,

I’m coming to take your children, and

I’m coming to take your money.

King Ahab responded and said, “Fine, you can have it all.”

Then Benhadad sent messengers to King Ahab a second time and said:

I know I said I was just going to take your wives, your children, and your money,

But I’ve been thinking about it,

And I’ve decided I’m going to send my guys over there tomorrow and take whatever I want.

King Ahab consulted with the elders of Israel and they responded, “There is no way we are going to sit back and let this happen.”

So when Benhadad recieved word from his messengers that Israel had said no, he got mad and send his entire army against Israel.

But a prophet of the Lord told King Ahab, “This is what the Lord says, don’t worry about the enemy because I am going to deliver them into your hands and you are going to know that I am God.”

So King Ahab sent 232 princes and 7,000 soldiers into battle against Benhadad and the Syrians.

And God delivered the Syrians into the hands of the Israelites and they defeated their enemy.

But a prophet of the Lord came back to King Ahab and warned him to be prepared because the Syrians would come back again the following year.

So Benhadad led the Syrians back to fight against Israel the following year just like the prophet said.

The Syrians came up with a battle plan that they thought would help them defeat the Israelites this time.

They said:

The God of Israel is the God of the hills.

So we are going to draw Israel out into the valleys.

And we will be able to defeat them there.

Because their God is not a God of the valleys.

The Bible says that as Benhadad and the Syrians came against Israel that Israel looked like a “little flock of goats” compared to the mighty army of the Syrians.

But God had another word for King Ahab and the Israelites.

SCRIPTURE

1 Kings 20:28 NKJV

28 Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

MESSAGE

Don’t Fall for the Enemies Schemes

The Enemy is Going to Try to Intimidate You

Satan is a bully.

He is going to try to convince you he is more powerful than he really is.

The only reason why Satan uses intimidation is because he knows he doesn’t really have the power to back up his claims.

The Enemy is Going to Try to Discourage You

If the enemy can’t intimidate you into giving up, he is going to try to discourage you from moving forward.

The enemy is going to try to defeat you in your mind and get you to throw in the towel before the battle even begins.

The enemy is going to try to get you to underestimate the power and the anointing of God in your life.

Don’t Underestimate God’s Power

The Lord is God of the Hills and Valleys

God is greater than whatever battle you’re facing.

Greater is He that is on the inside of you, than he that is in the world.

God is bigger than any mountain that we can or cannot see.

There Are No Limits to What God Can Do

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

He is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or even think.

Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in My name, I will give it to you.”

Don’t Concede Defeat

Stand your ground

Refuse to lose.

Don’t be intimidated into giving into the enemy’s demands.

Don’t be discouraged by size of your circumstances.

God Brought Victory to Israel

Israel killed 100,000 Syrians in one day.

The remainder of the Syrians fled from Israel to a place called Aphek and God caused a wall to fall down on them and killed 27,000 more.

God Can Give You Victory Today

Stop listening to the devil.

Start focusing on what God has already promised.

Stand upon the promises of God.

Speak victory in the name of Jesus.

CLOSING

Is the enemy up in your face right now?

Is the enemy trying to intimidate you?

Is the enemy trying to discourage you?

Is the enemy trying to convince you that the Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys?

Is the enemy trying to convince you to throw in the towel?

Is the enemy trying to convince you that you don’t have what it takes to make it?

Are you in a place right now where you haven’t yet given up, but you’ve thought about giving in?

If you said yes to any of those questions today, then you need to hear what God’s Word is trying to speak to you today.

The Lord is still God of the hills and the valleys.

For the God of the mountain,

is still God in the valley.

When things go wrong,

He’ll make them right.

And the God of the good times,

is still God in the bad times.

The God of the day,

is still God in the night.

God has promised you that He will deliver the enemy into your hands.

And God wants you to trust Him and hold on to His promises so that He can demonstrate to you that He is the Lord!

ALTAR CALL