Nothing Left But God.
2 Chronicles 20.
A wise Bible teacher once said, sooner or later, God will bring self-sufficient people to the place where they have no resource, but him- No strength, No answers, nothing but him. Without God’s help, they’re sunk.
He then told of a despairing man who confessed to his pastor, “My life is in really bad shape. How bad? The Pastor inquired. Burying his head in his hands he moaned, I’ll tell you how bad– all I’ve got left is God.
The pastors face lit up. “I’m happy to assure you that a person with nothing left, but God has more than enough for great victory.”
The people of Judah were also in trouble. They admitted their lack of power and wisdom, to conquer their foes.
-All they had left was God.
2 Chronicles 20:12AMP ”O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless against this great multitude which is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”“
“Lord, I can’t do a thing, I’m powerless, but my eyes are on You!” P.H
The people of Judah were in trouble. It all begun as enemies of Judah teamed together to destroy Judah.
2 Chronicles 20:1NIV ”Now it happened after this that the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.“
The Enemies of God had teamed up to destroy Gods people!
In the beginning of this conflict Judah admitted their lack of power and wisdom to conquer their foes.
God loves to hear you admit, “I can’t, but God can!”
The apostle Paul states in, 2 Corinthians 12:10cMSG I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get the stronger I become.
All the apostle Paul and the people of Judah- had left was God!
Say this, “Its all about perspective.”
When you read the entire account in, 2 Chron. 20, King Jehoshaphat, and the people saw this as reason, for Hope, not despair.
Again the text, 2 Chronicles 20:12MSG ”“And now it’s happened: men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir have shown up. You didn’t let Israel touch them when we got here at first—we detoured around them and didn’t lay a hand on them. And now they’ve come to kick us out of the country you gave us. O dear God, won’t you take care of them? We’re helpless before this vandal horde ready to attack us. We don’t know what to do; we’re looking to you.””
The final phrase, Again, verse 12, We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you, is one of the most touching expressions of trust in God to be found anywhere in the Bible.”
When you set your eyes, or fix your mind upon Jesus’ finished work it changes everything. P.H
A song of David. Psalm 63:1-2 Let God arise, and His enemies be scattered; Let those who hate Him flee before Him. 2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked and guilty perish before [the presence of] God.
When I praise God, -God arises!
The Israelites had just escaped slavery in Egypt and now they’re being pursued by Pharaoh. They were discouraged and afraid.
Exodus 14:14NIV the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14NKJV The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Exodus 14:14MSG God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!
God’s command, Remain still, fix your eyes, and thoughts on God’s promises.
Remaining still and calm while trusting God in the midst of stress laden situations has been a constant proof of God’s strength and power.
Psalm 46:10-11TPT ”Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth. 11 Here he stands! The Commander! The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side! The God of Jacob fights for us! Pause in his presence“
Remember this, “When you remain still, you get to know God.” P.H
Isaiah 30:15TPT ”Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Come back to me! By returning and resting in me you will be saved. In quietness and trust you will be made strong. -But you refused.“
You need to make this part of your confession (shout it out loud). -“Because I belong to the Lord, the battle is not mine, but Gods.”
The question begs to be answered, “Will you trust Me?”
The days seem to be dark and cold, the enemy lurking around every corner, walls are closing in, doors that need to be opened or not, doors that need to be closed are opened.
The question, “What are you going to do?” The greatest decision is trust, wait and believe.
What does Jehoshaphat do? -He turns to prayer.
-Prayer should be the basic reaction to any conflict!
2 Chronicles 20:5-12NKJV Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
King Jehoshaphat was under the gun. In the natural (the circumstance looked bad. -The Enemies of God teaming up!
Therefore, these nations joined together for one purpose, -to destroy Judah. -To destroy Judah would be to destroy praise!
2 Chronicles 20:13NKJV Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
Charles Spurgeon once stated, “I like to plunge my hand into the promises, and then I find myself able to grasp with a grip of determination the mighty faithfulness of God. An omnipotent plea with God is: ‘Do as thou hast said.’” -Wow!
King Jehoshaphat made two instrumental decisions during the first sign of trouble:
Jehoshaphat prayed. -He proclaimed for all of Judah, a call to pray.
He fasted. -He proclaimed for all Judah to fast, a call to fast.
Verse 14a of, 2 Chronicles 20 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel.
2 Chronicles 20:15NKJV ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Jahaziel proclaimed, Position yourselves.
He goes on to say in, 2 Chronicles 20:17NKJV You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:19NLT Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.
Of course, it is not coincidental that these two clans Kohath and Korah would be praising and shouting loudly into the Lord.
They worshipped, but why? They were not delivered. No, but they knew they were going to be delivered. Their enemies were not dead. No, they were all alive, but they were sure they would be dead, so they had worship. P.H
“Worship is most powerful when men and women learn to worship before the fact!’ ‘Worship on this side, the messed up side, and your victories will become sweeter.” P.H
2 Chronicles 20:21-24NLT After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” 22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
Notice, weapon were not used, Judah’s praise and worship destroyed their enemies before they could draw a single weapon!
2 Chronicles 20:25-30NLT King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
Do you have a valley of blessing? -Your valley of blessing begins to develop or manifest the day you begin your praise.
2 Chronicles 20:27-30NLT Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies. 28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord. 29 When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. 30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
Several facts I leave you with:
1. Your praise defeats any potential future enemy.
2. Your praise is always relevant. Praise makes you relevant!
Romans 12:1-2TPT Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
3. Praise leads you into continue victory.
2 Corinthians 2:14ESV But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
4. Your praise confuses the enemy. -What are they doing?
5. Your praise bestows upon you spiritual licenses to wreak havoc. To bind the devil, To cast out demons.
How is your current praise? -Need a tune up?
6. Praise gives you the edge before, during and after the battle!
7. Praise allows you to enjoy the plunder! -You understand what it took to get you here.
Benediction. -You got nothing left but God....? -Good!
