Seeking the Face of God

Review of the Crisis and Initial Reaction (from previous sermon)

0:07 And now, if you will please, turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 20, 2 Chronicles chapter 20. There are several of you with us this evening who were not here last night. I assume the majority of you, the great majority of you who are here this evening were with us last night. And so I would not weary you with a lengthy review, but for the sake of those who were not with us, I will take about four to five minutes to try to bring into focus the main perspectives that we gleaned from this portion of God's Word in our study last night.

0:48 And I may say in passing, for those of you who were not here last night, was unique in that we also had, in addition to the Word of God expounded, we had Mr. Spence give us a synopsis of the factors which have led, led to this present crisis in conjunction with the building. And that account, it's about 10, 12 minutes, something around that time, is on tape and will be available Sunday on a loan basis for any of the members who'd like to get hold of that in order to just have some of the facts in hand. It's difficult to keep going over those matters, and some of us don't have all those facts at our fingertips, but there is a very rational explanation.

1:33 Now, it does not lie in the realm of an architect who's thrown a curve at us or estimates that are way out of line or incompetence on the part of your deacons with regard to these matters. So, if you're interested, please see Phil on Sunday. Several copies will be made available, as we mentioned, on a loan basis. Now, very briefly, for the sake of those who are not with us, we have directed our attention to 2 Chronicles chapter, chapter 20, as a passage which holds some very helpful principles for us as we seek to face this crisis as men and women of the book.

2:16 Believing that the scriptures are the sufficient and only rule of faith and practice, then they ought to give us some guidelines as to how we should conduct ourselves in the midst of a corporate crisis as the people of God. Now, basically, what I attempted to do last night, was, first of all, to give some introductory considerations concerning the use of Old Testament history. Old Testament history is basically the history of redemption. Whenever we read a historical event, we are not reading an isolated snippet containing a few moral principles, which may help us in our pilgrimage as Christian, in our sojourn, but we're reading a segment of that, which God is doing to fulfill the purposes announced in Genesis 3.15 and, again, reiterated in Genesis chapter 12. We're reading the history of redemption. And because there is one redemption, one Redeemer, one God effecting that redemption, we should not be surprised to find that the New Testament writers clearly teach that the Old Testament narratives and instructions are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, even for the New Testament church.

3:39 We must be aware of making one-to-one parallels. We have no prophets, we have no kings, and therefore there are certain factors where there will be a difference. You can't make a one-to-one parallel, but the overarching principles are there, and are here in the language of 1 Corinthians 10, as those things written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the world will come. The end of the ages are come.

4:06 And then, we looked into the passage, verses 1 through 4 of 2 Chronicles 20, and considered the general circumstances of the time of this crisis. And all I will do to review is to read a quaint comment that I discovered in Matthew Henry when I was reading his account of this passage today. He said, If we meet with trouble in the way of duty, we may believe it is that God may have an opportunity of showing so much more of His marvelous lovingkindness. This crisis came to Judah and to Jehoshaphat the king, not on the heels of disobedience, but on the heels of a great revival and reformation. And so Matthew Henry comments that it was in the path of duty and obedience that the trouble came. And when it does, we may believe that God sends it in order to provide an opportunity to show much more of His marvelous lovingkindness. Then we looked at the unfolding of the crisis in verses 1 and 2, a crisis that came from this coalition of heathen armies who are about 15 miles from Jerusalem.

5:26 There is no logistical possibility of even what we might call the end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world.

5:31 The end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world.

5:31 The end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world. The hope of a military victory.

5:34 The situation is utterly hopeless as the crisis unfolds. And then we spent the bulk of our time looking at the reaction to this crisis on the part of King Jehoshaphat and the children of God, or we say the people of God in Judah, verses 3 and 4. Negative, he feared. Positive, three things.

Corporate Prayer in the Appointed Place

5:58 He set his face to seek the Lord. He declared, He declared a fast among all the people of God, and then there was an obedient response to that call to prayer. So much then for the brief review. Now we come to the fourth major area in which the materials are laid before us in the passage.

6:21 Having looked at the circumstances in which the crisis arose, the unfolding of the circumstance, the reaction to that crisis. Now we come to verses 5 through 13, in which we are given the details of their seeking the face of God. Verse 4 is a summary statement. And Judah gathered themselves together to seek help of the Lord, even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

6:54 But now precisely how did they seek the Lord? We have the general statement. They came to seek God. We have the statement in verse 13 that all Judah stood or presented themselves before the Lord.

7:10 So the entire group is before the Lord, exercised in this discipline of seeking His face. But now precisely how did they do this? Putting the question more close to home, precisely how ought we to seek the face of God in the midst of our faith? In the midst of our crises, even more particular, how ought we to seek the face of God in the midst of this particular crisis?

7:41 And here again the word of God is full of helpful principles to guide us as to what is involved in the kind of seeking of God's face which is pleasing to Him and which prevails with Him. Verse 5. I must underscore that there are, in my judgment as I have poured over this passage many hours in past days, at least three major groupings of the details in verses 5 through 13. First of all, we are given to understand that it was corporate prayer in the appointed place.

8:19 Verse 5. And then secondly, it was intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer. Verses 6 through 11. And then thirdly, it was believing, expectant prayer.

8:33 The latter part of verse 12 and the entirety of verse 13. So first of all then, it was corporate prayer in the appointed place. Notice how the historian is careful to underscore this in the words of verse 5. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem.

8:58 In the house of the Lord before the new court. So the emphasis falls upon two things. It was in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem. And it was in the house of the Lord.

9:16 Apparently, a court that had recently been expanded, something that was an addition or at least a repair on the temple constructed in the days of Zion. So the emphasis falls upon two things. First, it was in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem. And it was in the house of the Lord before the new court.

9:27 And it was in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem. Solomon. So then we are given to understand that it was corporate prayer in the appointed place. Here was the assembly of the people of God exercised in prayer. When the king called the entire people to prayer, he did not suggest that they gather primarily in little cottage prayer meetings, nor did he primarily emphasize that they ought to seek the Lord in secret, though this is indeed a biblical duty. Our Lord said, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, shut thy door, pray to thy Father in secret. But there is this clear intimation that they were called to this corporate engagement in seeking the face of God. Moreover, they were not to engage in this corporate activity. They were not

10:23 to engage in this corporate activity any place, but in a specific place. It was in the house of the Lord, in this court that was large enough to hold the entire group that gathered to pray. Now, why did they do this? Well, if you'll turn to 2 Chronicles 6, verses 18 through 21, you will be given the biblical answer. This public convocation in the temple was called because when the temple was rebuilt, it was called for the Holy Spirit. Solomon prayed after this manner. 2 Chronicles 6, verses 18 through 21. But will God in very deed dwell with men on earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of the

11:11 heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built. Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant. Solomon praying at the dedication of this temple. O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee, that thine eyes may be opened towards this house day and night, even towards the place whereof thou hast said thou wouldst put thy name there, to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray towards this place.

11:55 And hearken thou to the supplications of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place. Yea, hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven, and when thou hearest, forgive. So part of Solomon's prayer involves this petition that because God had placed his name, that is, he had chosen to make the temple a place where he would, in a peculiar way, presence himself with his people and manifest himself to his people, Solomon puts a peculiar attachment of significance upon that place. Now, did God answer that prayer? Turn to chapter 7 and verse 11 of 2 Chronicles.

12:49 God comes to Solomon in a vision of the night. Verse 12, 2 Chronicles 7, 12. He appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens, so that there is no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from them the word of the Lord from heaven, forgive their sins, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be opened, and mine ears a tent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there forever, and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. Now, do you see the emphasis?

13:59 God is saying, I have made the temple a special place with my presence. Therefore, because God was pleased to make his presence known in a peculiar way, it was there that the people of God were to cry to God in their corporate need. But you say, Pastor, don't you know? Certainly you know. In fact, many of us know it because you've taught us this from the beginning. You've taught us this from the beginning. You've taught us this from the word of God, that God no longer dwells in temples made with hands. That's right. But there is a place where he dwells, where he has put his name. And you know what that place is? That place is his gathered people. And the language of Matthew 18 is so parallel to this, one wonders if our Lord did not have even some of the language of Chronicles in his own mind when he gave the promise.

14:59 For we read in Matthew 18, 19, again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth this touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. So the first thing we note about this prayer, is that it was corporate prayer in the appointed place of the divine presence. And so with us as we meet this night, we have a promise regarding the peculiar presence of God in the midst of his gathered people, and a special promise concerning their corporate prayers. If two of you shall synchronize, if two of you shall agree on earth this touching what you ask, it shall be done. Why? Because it's a prayer that has gone forth from that appointed place in the corporate exercise of the people of God. And it's interesting

16:16 that though there was but one person giving verbal expression to the desires and needs of the nation, that one person was in reality the mouthpiece of the entire body. For though we read in verse 5, Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly and before the new court, and he said, the writer is careful to make it plain that he was not standing alone as a performer in the presence of spectators, and the narrative at this part is concluded in verse 13, and all Judah stood before the Lord. So that in the person of the one who took as it were all of the desires and the aspirations and the fears and the yearnings of the nation upon his own heart, and funneled them through his lips, it was not a performer in the presence of spectators, it was one becoming the voice of the entire group. And the promise given to Solomon was in reality fulfilled that it was the voice of the entire group. So that in the person of the one who took as it were all of the desires and the aspirations of the people who thus prayed through the mouth of the appointed king. And likewise as we gather to pray, we must never assume that those who open their mouths

17:44 to pray are performers and we are spectators evaluating what they pray. No, to the extent that they pray as an expression of the desires and yearnings of our corporate heart as the people of God, we stand with them and pray in them and through them as they become the mouthpiece leading us in prayer. And this is why again the adding of our amen is so vital so that there is that affirmation so be it Lord, my brother who has led us in prayer has expressed the yearning of my own heart. But then in the second place, and this is where the bulk of our attention will be directed, this prayer as to its details was not only corporal. Prayer in the appointed place, it was intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer.

Intelligent, Earnest, Biblical Prayer: Remembering God's Nature

18:40 They did not gather together and wring their hands in some kind of an emotional frenzy. There was no wild eyed, mindless screeching out of unbelieving wailing in the presence of an unconcerned and a distant deity. That's what you had on Mount Carmel. They cut themselves with lances.

19:03 They cried out, oh, they'll hear us. And when he didn't hear, they jumped a little bit and made a little more noise and spilled a little more blood. But now you notice something of the intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer in which the people of God engage. Let me read the prayer and then we shall attempt to analyze it.

19:23 Jehoshaphat stands and he says, verse 6, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God? Amen. And art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

19:46 Ditt's not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If evil cometh. If evil cometh upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save. And now behold the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them and destroyed them not.

20:31 Behold how they reward. Behold how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt not thou judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do.

20:51 But our eyes are upon thee. And all Judah stood before Jehovah with their little ones, their wives, and their children. This, I say, is an example of intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer in the midst of a tremendous crisis. Now remember, those armies were fifteen miles away.

21:18 If ever there was a time to justify frenzied praying, in which you sort of got your theology mixed up, it would be this kind of a situation. But there's not a shred of evidence of any frenzy, any disruption. It's as though, while he's engaged in prayer, Jehoshaphat had no concern that the armies were breathing down his neck. He is shut in with his God.

21:45 And this prayer reflects both an active mind and an involved heart with both of those faculties, that is, the mind and the heart, under the powerful influence of the Word of God. And I say that's what constitutes true God-honoredness. Prayer that reflects an active mind, an engaged and an involved heart, and both of those faculties, mind and heart, under the powerful present influence of the Word of God. Will you notice now the ingredients of this intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer?

22:27 There was, first of all, a conscious remembrance and reiteration of the nature and character of God. Notice what he does in the beginning of this prayer. O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, he remembers and reiterates before God something God well knows, but something that he needs presently to remember, that God is the God of covenant grace and faithfulness. Jehovah, that name that came to prominence when God revealed himself.

23:05 He revealed himself as the God of covenant mercy to his people who were in bondage in Egypt. And when the human deliverer is sent and the question is asked, in what name shall I go? God reveals himself as the great I AM. I AM that I AM.

23:24 I will be that I will be. Not in abstraction, but in connection with getting my people out of the bondage of Egypt, and planting them in the land of the Lord. Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Verse 4, Verse 5, Verse 6, Verse 7, Verse 8, Verse 9, Verse 10, Verse 10, and 11, whosized in the land of promise as he unfolds his redemptive purposes. So there is this conscious remembrance and verbal reiteration of this aspect of the character and nature of God, God of covenant grace and faithfulness.

23:54 Secondly, there is this remembrance and reiteration of God's character in these words, art not thou God? in heaven. That is God of unrivaled supremacy. The only comment that needs to be made upon this verse is to read Deuteronomy 4.39. What did Jehoshaphat have in mind when he ascribes to God this characteristic? Art not thou God in heaven? Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 39. Know therefore this day and lay it to thy heart that the Lord he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath. There is none else. Remember now, he lived in a day

24:53 when the heathen nations had many things that they called gods. When he had been instrumental in purging even from the so-called promised land. The people of God who had fallen into idolatry had been instrumental in purging away some of these false gods. Here is this conscious remembrance. Though there be many that be called gods to us, there is but one God in the language of the apostle in Corinthians. So, there is a conscious remembrance then, not only of God as the God of covenant grace and faithfulness, but God as the God of unrivaled supremacy. Thirdly, he reminds himself that God is the God of absolute sovereignty in the affairs of men. Look at the language. And art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations?

25:55 Yes, Lord, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and some of their associates have come, but Lord, they have not come apart from your sovereignty. They have not come apart from your sovereign will in their coming. The fact that this coalition is fifteen miles from Jerusalem does not in any way infer that God has vacated his throne and left it to another. He recognizes that when the warlords met in council and decided to come down upon Judah and Jerusalem, that Almighty God was there disposing their hearts so to decide to go out to battle. He reminds himself in the presence of God that God is the God of unrivaled sovereignty. And art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? No, but in the presence of the people of God that God is presently the God of absolute sovereignty in the affairs of men. And then, fourthly, he reminds himself in the people of God that God is the God of absolute omnipotence. Look at the language. And in thy hand is power

26:58 and might so that none is able to withstand thee. See, the additional thought? Not only is God upon us, but he is on the other side of us. God is on the other side of us. God the throne, but in his hand, the hand being the organ of performance. Stretch out thy hand. You find that concept again and again in the scriptures. That's the organ, the member of performance. So he's saying God's sovereignty over the nations is not something that is detached and abstract. In his hand, right now, is mighty power so to work that none can withstand it. Fifteen miles away is a coalition of three, at least two nations and segments of others, all their armies ready to pounce upon them, no logistical possibility of withstanding him. He says, God, you're the God of what? Of absolute omnipotence.

27:54 And if you choose to say thus far and no far, you can stop them twenty yards from the gates of Jerusalem. There is the conscious remembrance, conscious remembrance of God. The conscious reiteration of the nature and the character of God. What we have here is pure, vigorous, intelligent theology coming out in prayer. This is theology proper. This is the doctrine of God that had been infused into the spirit and mind of Jehoshaphat. He was not writing these things for an exam in theology at the Trinity Ministerial Academy.

28:35 Write an essay on the nature and attributes of God. This was a king standing with the entire people over which he reigned, with these hostile armies, fifteen miles away, and he recites theology in the presence of God. I have no sympathy for those that say theology is detached, abstract, has no relationship to life. You try to tell Jehoshaphat that. There's a sense in which his theology stood between him and those armies and was the only thing that gave him comfort. This God was God. All of these things are not thou. Not, Lord, you were, but you are. You see, the emphasis

29:21 falls upon God in his gracious, powerful, almighty character. And may I say, dear people, that this is one of the things that filled my own heart with great joy last night. Those of you who are here will know that very few of the prayers focused upon the crisis as such. I don't think there's one person that prays for God. I don't think there's one person that prays for God. I don't think there's one person that prays for God. I don't think there was one person that prayed the Lord would send us any money. I don't think there was one person that prayed that God would do this, that, and the other. But there was this drawing out of our hearts to recognize in the midst of this crisis who our God is. Now, you see, God was all of those things ten minutes before Jehoshaphat received the report that the armies are fifteen miles away. Now, does the presence of those armies fifteen miles from Jerusalem change any of those facts? Jehoshaphat is saying, in essence, not a one-time change, but that one of them is changed by the presence of that crowd. These things have

Intelligent, Earnest, Biblical Prayer: Remembering God's Deeds

30:19 always been true of God and always shall be true of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And, dear children of God, this will be the sheet anchor to our souls as we pass through this crisis. And whatever crisis God has for us in the future, it is our knowledge of God. They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Be still and know that God is strong. But then, secondly, that which made this intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer was not only this element of the conscious remembrance and reiteration of the nature of God, but there was a conscious remembrance and reiteration of the deeds of God. Notice the emphasis in the text. He says, first of all, art not thou, that's God's being, but now, verse 7, didst not thou, O our God. The emphasis now falls upon not that which God is in himself, but that

31:24 which God does. And so he turns from the character and nature of God to the very deeds of God which reveal something of what he is. And basically he says he is the God of past conquests. Didst not thou, O our God, that which made this intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer was not only this end? Think of that mighty work of driving out the heathen nations that were in the land of promise.

31:54 Didst not thou drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?" And, now here's the second thought, they dwelt therein, and build thee a sanctuary for thy name, the latter part of verse 9 for thy name is in this house so the two deeds of God which come into focus in the prayer of Jehoshaphat are these God's mighty work in the past conquests of the people of God and God's gracious work in granting his peculiar presence past conquests his peculiar presence now do you see the consolation this would give with the armies 15 miles away art not thou the God who is not only upon a throne who is not only the God of covenant faithfulness we not only remember what you are in yourself but oh Lord we remember there was a time when all these heathen nations occupied the we not occupy it why? Lord drove them out and if you drove them out and keep them at bay in the present

33:18 then he moves from that contemplation of God's past conquest to this gracious reality he had made his people his peculiar dwelling and in a special way the temple the place of his presence it was not enough that they were planted if they were without God after they were planted and so when all of the warfare was over you remember David had in his heart to build a house and God says no you're a man of blood but your son after you in days of peace will erect that symbol of my presence and Solomon erects that magnificent temple in the glory of God so fills it that even the priests can enter and then you remember what happened they came from all over the then known world the queen of Sheba Hiram king of Tyre and what did they see? they saw the mighty works of God until the queen of Sheba says the half has not been told us and the glory of God went out from that temple to the ends of the earth ah but you say pastor what's that say to us well I get the goose bumps thinking about it as we come to seek the face of God what is to be the conscious remembrance of our minds what is to be the focus of our intelligent actings of mind and of reflection

34:46 well it must not only be that which God is in himself God of covenant grace and faithfulness unrivaled supremacy absolute sovereignty absolute omnipotence but is he not the God who has wrought mighty conquests for us this morning after we had prayed for some time and felt we needed a break and a change of posture and then came back there were few of us still gathered and I began to share some of God's past conquests for this people and what a thrill it was to reiterate what God has done to plant us in this place as a congregation of his own choosing to reiterate the mighty victories that God has wrought to remember what he did when we were but a handful to give a parsonage that was adequate for a place for me and my family a study and a place to pray and how we used to gather in what now is the family room and when we outgrew that some would sit out in the stairs in the hallway and then what God did in giving us this place and I was recounting to Pastor Fisher after the prayer time this morning we took a walk through the park and told him some things that he was not aware of how God gave us this place and some of us can remember it's as vivid as though in our minds yesterday we had tracked down every kind of conceivable

36:15 building and everything and then the day we stood in this place that reeked of the smell of stale beer the floors had not been stripped in 50 years they were a dark ugly brown this place was completely cleared there were eggs that had been thrown upon the walls it was a shambles it was dirty it was filthy and we stood at that back door and we looked at one another and said this is what God has given us and the conviction was sealed to our hearts and we looked back didst not thou plant us this is what God has done and then above all else he has given us the seal of his special presence and what has turned this place into a veritable Bethel has been the presence of God and some of us get a little nostalgic when we meet here because we remember this is the very place in which the word of God came to us with power and we were brought out of darkness and into marvelous light we can remember when we stepped within its place its walls and we were not impressed with the pretty drapes or anything else but we sensed ere long into a service there's something different about this place and that difference is God is here oh what consolation we should take dear people it is the cause of God that is at stake where God

Intelligent, Earnest, Biblical Prayer: Presenting the Problem

37:42 comes to dwell with his people the concerns of that people are the concerns of the living God that's why Jesus said the gates of hell shall not be prevailed against the church not because the church in itself is something special but the church is his body he is something special it is his dwelling place if it is to be destroyed he is to be destroyed God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God shall help her and that right early so there was as the second element this conscious remembrance and reiteration of the deeds of God and then finally you wonder when in the world he's going to get around praying about the problem well not yet first of all remembers who God is then remembers and reiterates what God has done now thirdly verses 10 through 12a there is a clear presentation of the problem in the presence of God and notice again how rational no frenzy no pushing panic buttons and now oh Lord after we've gotten through all that and we've reminded ourselves of who you are and what you've done and we've got our feet firmly planted now we'll turn from the contemplation of God to a very rational consideration of our problem and woe be unto you if you reverse the order you get the problem so before your eyeballs

39:12 that you can't see God Moses endured why seeing him who is invisible all the children of Israel saw was Egyptians coming behind them Red Sea in front of them mountains to the left mountains to the right and they said man we're in a pickle would to God we'd died back there but Moses endured seeing him who is invisible now that's what happened to Jehoshaphat his eyes clear with the vision of God his mind is full of remembrance of the deeds of God and now he turns to this God and says now Lord behold now Lord take a look at the mess we're in behold the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt but turned aside for them and destroyed them not behold how they reward us to come to cast us out of thy possession which thou hast given us to inherit oh our God wilt thou not judge them he says now Lord here's our problem this crowd has come and they've got one thing in their minds they want to cast us out of the inheritance that you've given to us and Lord it's not because it's a form of retribution when we were passing by their territory in our journeys we asked permission to pass through they wouldn't give it to us instead of pouncing upon them and giving it to them for their nastiness we just went around them oh God there's no judgment

40:40 in what they're doing to us there's no just retribution for cruelty on our part you see he is pleading out of the context of a clear conscience with respect to that enemy he says God that enemy I know whatever it's there for me or it's not because of a judgment upon our misdeeds and that's why he reminds God of this even as David does again and again in the Psalms he talks about the integrity of his conscience before God as he prays so there's the clear presentation of the problem to God the problem on the one hand the enemy that has come with no other intention but utterly to drive them out of the land and then the problem on the other hand that arises from their own hearts look at the language of it here it is we have no might against this great company that cometh against us neither know we what to do the problem on the one hand is this coalition of the nations determined to drive us out of our inheritance and on the other hand our impotence no might our ignorance no knowledge of the right path now that's really a pickle well that's really a pickle what am a pickle a people determined to destroy them it would be enough if that was so if they could say but Lord

42:09 you have raised up from our ranks an army competent to handle them if you will bless our fighting or even if they could say Lord we have no might but you've made known to us the path to victory as you made known to Joshua they had no might against Jericho but Lord you told them march around it seven days the seventh day seven times blow your trumpets and the rest and I'll take care see it's one thing to claim impotence but to know what your path is but when you add ignorance to impotence then you're really in a fix and that's precisely where they were and they spread the whole problem before God and that's exactly what we've been doing because we have to confess as we see this coalition of the nations of the cost factors of the building the problem of the numerical growth of our congregation the realities of our own economic situation we have to say Lord that coalition is going to drive us out of business added to that problem Lord we have no might against it and we don't have a clue for what to do about it and it was that very element of the prayer that first directed my attention

43:37 to this passage that I'm going to last week when we were wrestling through these things I said Lord where is that we have no might we know not what to do I got up my concordance and that's when this thing began to be the focus and I've hardly been able to read anything else in the scripture since I've just been chewing around in that pasture I said Lord that's right where we are now you see the flesh hates to be there because it's in that kind of a situation that every last vestige of carnal confidence is slain if we can just join to impotence a little bit of knowledge we feel Lord at least we've got a little something to rest upon we've got no power but at least we know what to do but you join impotence to ignorance and I say we've got our backs to the wall or as someone said you're between a rock and a hard place and there we are and the amazing thing is that Jehoshaphat doesn't veil that from the Lord in his prayer he doesn't try to impress God with the language of great grace and confidence and great knowledge he just spreads it all out he says now behold Lord here's the situation now God knew it already but God loves to hear us tell it like it is in his own words but then we see in the last place and I must hurry

Believing, Expectant Prayer: Our Eyes Are Upon Thee

45:04 to a conclusion so we can pray it was not only corporate prayer in the appointed place intelligent earnest biblical prayer with these three aspects that we've examined but it was believing expectant prayer look at the language look at the language but the latter part of verse 12 our eyes are upon thee and all Judah stood before Jehovah the little phrase our eyes are upon thee is full of rich significance without going into any great detail or expanding or application of it suffice it to read the first two verses of Psalm 123 unto thee do I lift up mine eyes over the earth O thou that sittest in the heavens behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master and as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress so our eyes look unto the Lord our God until he have mercy upon us what does this involve our eyes are upon thee we're full of ignorance we're full of impotence we're in a place of critical danger but our eyes are upon thee but our eyes are upon thee well you see it involves a wonderful confession on the part of the people of God that they believe that God is

46:29 how can your eyes be upon a God that ain't there he that cometh to God must believe that he is and Jehoshaphat and the people of God believed that none of those factors that now brought them into this dilemma had changed the reality of the being of God our eyes are upon thee there was a God upon whom the eyes could be fixed furthermore it involves the confidence that he's able to meet the need in the language of Psalm 123 our eyes wait upon thee until not to see if but until he have mercy upon us you see that's where the wonderful confidence is born when we understand this is God's cause you see if we were some kind of a little religious group who got a notion that we needed to have a building in order to continue to do our thing what confidence could we have to believe that the God of the universe could be bothered about that but if this is God's cause in the outworking of his redemptive purposes he's put his name upon his people and he's sealed his people with his presence this is God's cause am I irreverent if I say he must intervene no he must

47:57 if he is God he must and so we can say our eyes are upon thee Lord we believe you are there great head of the church all power in heaven and earth are in your hands and so our eyes are upon you confessing we believe he's there confessing we believe he understands knows our need and will in his time meet that need and that posture of heart is underscored by verse 13 now all Judah stood before the Lord that word stood can mean simply physical posture but in some places it means more than that it means to be presented it's said of Moses in Psalm 106 in verse 23 that Moses stood before the Lord on behalf of the nation of Israel that is he placed himself as an intercessor and I believe the word is filled with those overtones in this passage all Israel stood presented themselves in the posture of faith and expectation they stood before the Lord that's dangerous business when you've got a coalition of three armies breathing down your neck man you better run and get your shield and get your sword and protect your kids I can imagine some little kid tugging at his daddy saying daddy the armies are coming shh shh

49:24 we must run stand before God but daddy we gotta do something we are doing something we're standing before the Lord waiting for God to intervene and so we've tried in these days to resist the temptation to do something oh how strong the temptation has been isn't there something we can do and the little children of our remaining sin tug at us continually saying do this do that do this and we have to say to all those little brats shut up we're doing what we're supposed to do we're standing before the Lord we're standing before the Lord believing expectant prayer Matthew Henry again quaintly says it speaks of an eye of acknowledgement and of submission an eye of faith and of utter dependence an eye of desire and hearty prayer an eye of hope and patience expectation may God help us to take this prayer as a model for our own life as a congregation at this critical time we are here in the appointed place as a corporate body of God's people as we pray tonight

50:49 let us seek to pray intelligently fervently and biblically remembering and recounting the nature and the character of God I've heard some people say disparagingly you don't need to spin out a system of theology when you pray when you come to God just talk to him this conversational prayer bit you won't find any warrant for that in scripture all the great prayers recorded in scripture begin with the acknowledgement of who God is and I'm sick and tired of this kind of despising of that prayer and saying you just come to God and talk to him like your buddy he's not our buddy in the mess we're in we need more than a buddy to help us we need the great God who's on the throne the God who has all power in heaven and earth and as we reiterate and remember who he is what happens faith is strengthened by the contemplation of the majesty and the glory of God but even as we do this dear people having done that remembered who he is remembered what he's done as we seek to bring before us the principles of the word we still must continue to confess we know not how to pray as we ought and only the Holy Ghost can help us to pray as Jehoshaphat prayed he prayed in the spirit and it's the same spirit

52:15 who enabled him so to pray who is here indwelling us who will enable us to pray and to lay hold of him that is mighty so let us give ourselves then to seeking the face of our gracious God and believing in God and to believe that as we wait upon him he will do for us what he did for his ancient people let me encourage you to read on in the passage meditate upon it tomorrow and then let us come together believing God to continue to minister to our hearts through his own precious word