The Work of God in Answer to Prayer

Review of Judah's Crisis and Prayer (2 Chronicles 20:1-19)

0:07 Now let us turn again to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. This portion of the word of God that has become so precious to us in these past days of crisis. Suffice it to say for the benefit of those visiting amongst us. Our crisis is not a crisis of a church split about to happen.

0:29 Nor one of the leaders falling into gross sin. It is the crisis part of which you witness by being in a school auditorium for worship on this Lord's Day morning. It's the crisis that has come about through the growth and increase that God has given. And then the peculiar circumstances that have come out of a long and complex strand of God's providence.

0:55 In leading us to purchase a piece of land and obtain an architect. And all of these other factors. If you're really interested to know the details. As we said a tape with Mr. Spence's presentation is available to purchase or to loan.

1:10 And Phil will gladly accommodate you in that matter. Or Kirk whoever is on duty this morning. But it is a crisis which has become to us in a very real sense. A gracious disposition of God to teach us of himself and of his ways.

1:30 And in the midst of this crisis as we have cried to God. For light to know what our path ought to be. God has directed us to this chapter. Second Chronicles chapter 20.

1:41 In which we have found some very pertinent principles. Which have been to us the word of God giving us light upon our pathway. Now obviously I cannot gather together in ten minutes by way of review. All of the substance of two and a half hours of exposition.

2:01 Now that wasn't one night. That was three nights. Two and a half hours of opening up the word of God. But will you follow closely as I seek in the time limit of about ten minutes.

2:13 To reduce two and a half hours of exposition and application to its bare bones. And even then we'll be leaving out some of the bones. The first thing we considered and it's of absolute importance when coming to a historical portion. For that's what Second Chronicles chapter 20.

2:33 Is to understand something of the nature of Old Testament history. When we read a historical portion such as we have in Second Chronicles 20. We are not reading an isolated snippet of the events in the lives of the people of Israel. Events containing a few moral principles from which we get some help.

3:00 As we seek to live in the 20th century. No. At whatever point you and I dip down into Old Testament history. And that's what we're doing.

3:11 We're dipping down into the history of the southern tribes called the nation of Judah. We are dipping in to a larger sea of God's concern. And that sea into which we dip and ladle out a portion. Is what we call the history of redemption.

3:31 God is committed to a course. Which will bring to pass the redemption of a great multitude of sinners. He announced in Genesis 3.15.

3:43 His intention through the seed of the woman to bruise the head of the serpent. He announced that in that process the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. And that purpose of God is carried on with relentlessness right on through the scriptures. And so.

4:04 Because there is but one purpose of redemption and one redeemer and one redeemed people. It is not surprising that the principles of God's working at any point in the history of redemption. Have tremendous relevance to the people of God at any point in the history of redemption. And because we are the people of God seeking light in our crisis.

4:31 We have every warrant to turn to the crisis. To see the situations of the Old Testament people of God. And to see what the great God of redemption does. To further the cause of redemption in giving to his son the promised seed.

4:48 Who would be his very own. Then having established that principle. We began to examine the passage itself. And we noted the context of this crisis.

5:00 This was not a crisis brought upon the people of God. Because of present sin and disobedience. In 2nd Chronicles 19.4 we read that through Jehoshaphat.

5:13 The people were brought back unto the Lord the God of their fathers. And the first verse of chapter 20 says it came to pass after this. Here was a great revival.

5:27 Subsequent to that revival there was a restoration of the law of God. And an attempt to reform the entire nation. And to restore the national life by the scriptures. It was in the midst of a present revival and reformation.

5:40 That this tremendous crisis came crashing down upon the nation of Judah. Indicating that such crises as we now face are not to be interpreted as a judgment from God. As the frown of God. But rather as a kind providence that we may learn more of the ways of God.

6:01 And prove his faithfulness. Then we looked at verses 1 and 2 in chapter 20 as the unfolding of the crisis. What was the crisis? Well if you look at the text.

6:12 There were these nations that came together in this unholy alliance. With a purpose to come down and utterly to strip away from the inhabitants of Judah. Their land and their possessions. They came together against Jehoshaphat to battle.

6:30 And the news of that comes to the ears. Of the king that a great multitude has come against him. So the crisis was a crisis of this coalition of the heathen nations. Whose military might was such as to cause Jehoshaphat to know.

6:48 There is no way we have even fighting odds against them. Furthermore this information did not come until these armies were 15 miles from Jerusalem. There was no time to call a battle plan amongst the generals. It was a crisis in which as we have used the term night after night.

7:10 They were caught between a rock and a hard place. And so are we. As the people of God in this place. Circumstances have come together and come together as it were.

7:23 So suddenly and unexpectedly that we find ourselves. Needing a building in which to carry on the functions of our life. And ministry as a church. And yet we find ourselves with the combined influences of subsoil conditions unknown to us.

7:39 Other factors that were unpredictable and unpredicted. In the face of our own economic limitations. And we are between a rock and a hard place. And these enemies have come upon us.

7:53 And we stand before them from the human side. Utterly powerless. Utterly helpless. Then we considered in the third place.

8:01 The reaction to the crisis verses 3 and 4. And this is all we have done is go right through the text. And the reaction was basically this. The appointed leader was afraid.

8:12 He was scared. And so are we. But his fear did not paralyze him for he set himself to seek the Lord. So the appointed leader gives himself with determination to seeking help from the living God.

8:28 Secondly a call went out to a corporate gathering of God's people. Here was a proclamation of a fast throughout all Judah. Extraordinary crises demand extraordinary means. And so a national fast is proclaimed.

8:45 That the people of God may give themselves to prayer. And then we saw the obedience of the people to that summons. Verse 4. And Judah gathered themselves together.

8:57 Even as you have been obedient. Even as you have been obedient to that summons from your appointed leaders. So were these obedient. And we read in verse 13.

9:07 That it was not only the adults but all Judah with their little ones. Their wives and their children. And then we considered together the specifics of how they sought the Lord. Verses 5 through 13.

9:22 I urge you to meditate upon the passage if you were not present for the exposition. But suffice it to say that as you do you will notice three groupings of these materials. The way in which they sought God is outlined in the following manner. Number one it was corporate prayer in the appointed place.

9:42 Every man and woman did not go to his or her own cottage or tent to pray. They came together as the body of God's people. And they came together in the appointed place the house of God. And so in our crisis we have come together as the living temple.

9:59 In the place of God's appointment. His church. His people. Believing that in a peculiar way he is present in the midst of his gathered people.

10:09 The second thing we notice about their seeking was that it was intelligent earnest biblical prayer. There was no frenzy. Oh God help us. Oh God help us.

10:19 Lord we are in it. No, no. Calm rational intelligent but earnest prayer to God. Prayer that involved the remembrance of who he is.

10:28 Oh God of our fathers. Sovereign God. Omnipotent God. There was the remembrance of what he had done.

10:37 You gave this land to our father Abraham. You drove out the enemies. You planted your people. And then there was a spreading out of the details of the need beginning with verse 10.

10:50 Lord here is the pickle we are in. And the facts are spreading. And they are with him. He has a great spirit.

10:56 He can turn out what is if we don't praise him. And that will live for him. And that is what can never be recaptured. Oh how my own spirit rejoiced within me night after night and morning after morning.

11:05 To hear intelligence scriptural earnest prayer. The likes of which I have never heard in twenty five years as a Christian. Now I have heard prayer that was his earnest. When God saved me.

11:18 The Lord saved a few other young men. And it was nothing for us to meet two or three times a week. a week and pray one two three four hours at a stretch and you talk about earnest fervent prayer but oh there was an awful lot of fanaticism in it there are times when god must have exercised a lot of patience from not slapping one of us in the mouth when we were demanding this of god and demanding that of god but oh intelligent scriptural prayer i say in all honesty i have never heard such intelligent earnest scriptural prayer in all my days as a believer it is that kind of prayer

12:01 that they offered in that crisis thank god it has been offered by the help of the spirit in this crisis but then thirdly it was not only corporate prayer in the right place intelligent earnest biblical prayer but it was believing expected prayer they said our eyes are upon thee and all judas stood before the lord in the spotless Nous Prometheus The fullness of your heart in the maintenance of holy spirit and your mind in stuffilism Posture not only of pleading, but as you heard this morning in the previous hour, of waiting and of expectation.

12:33 And then the next major division is the next paragraph. This is one of those chapters that's a delight to the preacher. The paragraph divisions, each one form a sermon in themselves. Verses 14 to 19, then we have the response of God to their seeking.

12:49 Verses 14 to 19, God's response with His Word. And then in verses 20 through 30, God's response with His deed. God responded to that kind of prayer. And my ten minutes are almost gone, but I must pause enough to underscore it.

13:09 The Word of God came to them. The Spirit came upon Jehaziel. And he opens his mouth and says, Thus saith the Lord. He didn't say, Thus saith.

13:19 Thus saith the logistical experts. Thus saith the stock market experts. Thus saith the financial advisors.

13:28 Thus saith the Lord. This was a crisis in the history of redemption. And when the church is run as a corporation, and in her crisis simply looks to corporation principles, she brings dishonor to the living God. Her weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

13:49 And they cry to God. And God comes with a word. And you know what the essence of His Word was? Look at it briefly.

13:56 It was a word of prohibition. God says in verse 15, Fear not. Don't be dismayed. Whatever you do, don't push any panic buttons.

14:06 And I've almost taken tape to strap my right hand to my thigh in these days. Oh, how the temptation has been there to push the panic buttons. Fear not, God says. Don't be dismayed.

14:21 Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. God prohibits that. Then He explains why we ought not to be afraid or be dismayed.

14:28 Verses 15 and 17. Look at it. The battle is not yours, but God's. He says, Don't be afraid.

14:37 The cause is mine. And then the end of verse 17. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed.

14:43 For the Lord is with you. And those were the two words that brought and continue to bring comfort to us. God says, Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed.

14:53 That's the prohibition. Now, what's the explanation behind that? The cause is mine and my presence is yours. And that ends the issue.

15:05 The cause is mine. My presence is yours. And then He gives them a word of direction. What are they to do?

15:13 They're not to sit down. He says, verse 16, Tomorrow go down against them. Walk right into the face of your crisis. Go.

15:23 Go ye forth to meet them. You're not to sit down. Go. But then He says what they're not to do.

15:29 Notice what He says. Verse 17. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. This is not going to be won by normal military tactics.

15:37 Set yourselves. Stand still. And see the salvation of God. Go down to them.

15:43 But when you get down there, don't pull your sword out. Well, that's the craziest kind of directions I've ever heard in my life. Man, if we ain't going to fight them, let's stay home where it's a little more safe. God says go down to them and then keep your sword in your scabbard and just stand there and watch what I'm going to do.

16:00 That's what God said. Isn't that what your Bible reads? That's what mine says. Not here.

16:04 Look at it. It's right there in your own Bible. Go down. Stand still.

16:11 And I'll show you what I'm going to do. And how did they respond to that? All the cynics get together and say, Now let's just wait a minute here. Let's be reasonable men.

16:22 My friend, your reason sometimes is nothing but the mouthings of the heart of unbelief. What did they do? Well, look at verse 18. Here's their response to that word.

16:33 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. Then as I said the other night, it's like a big machine gun went through the whole nation. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Jehovah. Down they went.

16:46 I remember preaching one time in a large auditorium up in Canada. There were some 1,500 or 2,000 people present. And God came into that meeting and I didn't know what to do. And the man who was leading the meeting, who was much more seasoned than I, I'll never forget, he stood up and he says, God's in this place.

17:03 You want to meet God? Get on your face. And all over that place, I thought of that when reading this. People went down like someone shot them.

17:10 Down on their faces to cry to God. That's what happened. They worshipped. Their response to that word was, This is ridiculous.

17:20 This doesn't make sense. If you're going to use your sword, you've got to take it out of your scabbard. If you're not going to fight, wipe it. No, no, no.

17:28 No arguing with God. There was this worshipping of the God who had come with a word of comfort and direction. And then there was this blessing and praising of God. Look at it.

17:40 Verse 19. And the Levites and the children of the Kohathites and the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. Pulled out all the stops and they sung themselves hoarse. And that was the song of faith.

17:58 Well. It took me 15 minutes, but I tried.

The Setting of God's Deliverance: Obedience (2 Chronicles 20:20)

18:02 Now we come this morning to begin our study of the second great division in this part. They pray and they seek God. And how does God answer? He answers with His word to which faith is directed.

18:18 And then He answers with His deed in honor of that faith. Now we're going to look at verses 20 through 24. The paragraph division. And the ASV at this point, I believe, is wrong.

18:33 They ought to have included verse 24 in the paragraph. And they rose early in the morning. And they went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem.

18:51 Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established. Believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when He had taken counsel or given counsel to the people, He appointed them that should sing unto the Lord and give praise in holy array as they went out before the army and say, Give thanks unto the Lord, for His lovingkindness endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liars in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir that were come against Judah.

19:30 And they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and to destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth.

19:55 And there were none that escaped.

20:00 Hear! We see what God now does by His delivering deed. As we think through the passage this morning, and I'm thankful to God, and I don't mean that lightly for this cool morning, so if I preach a little longer than usual, my conscience won't bother me at all, because you're not hot and all sticky. God's given us a lovely day.

20:24 Notice in the first place the setting of this work of deliverance. God is going to deliver. He's going to deliver His people. But the Spirit of God is careful to record the setting of that deliverance.

20:38 Verse 20. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness, and as they went forth. You see the emphasis?

20:54 The setting of this deliverance is nothing more or less than the explicit obedience of the people, the people of God, to the directions of the Word of God. What had God told them to do? Well, He said, Don't be afraid, because the cause is mine and my presence is yours, but don't sit still and just thank me either. Go down to meet them.

21:17 Verse 60. Tomorrow go ye down against them. Here's where they are. You go down at this particular place against them.

21:30 Verse 17. Verse 17. Tomorrow go out against them. The deliverance begins with the words, And as they went forth, Jehovah.

21:45 Now the great principle is simply this, that the deliverance of God in answer to the prayers of the people of God came in the path of obedience to their present revealed duty. The deliverance did not come in any other path but the path of obedience. As they went forth. And everything that follows is in that context.

22:19 And this is a great principle of God's dealings with His people. When He would give a mighty deliverance, He almost invariably gives some word of direction which many times is utterly contrary to carnal reasoning. How? How did He give Jericho?

22:38 Bunch of fools. Walk around the thing singing. This mighty fortified city. You don't win great military battles having a song fest.

22:50 Are you crazy?

22:55 You don't win battles, parading. That's good for holidays. When you want to show off and get up your nice navy blues and take a march down the street. But you don't go marching around walls to win military victories.

23:11 That's militarily stupid. God says, so be it. That's what I want you to do. And so they do.

23:18 Seven days. And to add insult to injury, God says on the last day, I really want to rub it in seven times. One day. Lord, have mercy on us.

23:26 Our legs are getting tired. That's all right. Three more times to go.

23:32 Now when we pick up that theme in the book of Hebrews, what does it say? By their marching, the walls fell down the north. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell. Faith exercised how?

23:43 How? How? And proven how? In the path of obedience.

23:51 And as we applied the word of direction the other night, we said it's the conviction of your elders at this juncture that we must continue to move in the direction in which our feet have been set by divine providence in a course of prayerfulness and waiting upon God. The architect has been charged to complete his drawings, to get the building permit, go forth to meet them. Where is that great obstacle? Are we to back off?

24:19 Are we to start looking up carnal ways to get out? No! Go forth to meet them. Those are our marching lines.

24:28 And it will be in the path of obedience that blessing will come. In the meantime, God hasn't cancelled one of the commands. Make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them.

24:37 Teaching them. All of our duties as a church are still upon us. That's why we're determined we will not involve ourselves in crippling indebtedness. That would keep us from sending the gospel out.

24:52 That would keep us so preoccupied with meeting mortgage payments that we could not give ourselves to the real work of the kingdom. That would be disobedience in one area in order to have the semblance of obedience in another. So all we can do is go forth to meet them. That's the setting of their deliverance and it will be the setting of ours.

25:15 And you know what's been the greatest encouragement to me? That the God who put the spirit of obedience in these people obviously has put that spirit of obedience in the hearts of many of you. I'm going to confess to you and you visitors who don't know me and say, well, he's kind of gushy. You know, I'm sorry.

25:33 You may have that impression. That's your privilege. But I'm ministering to my people this morning. You're welcome to look in, but you excuse me.

25:40 I'm talking as a shepherd amongst his sheep. I felt like a king in these past days as I've sat in my study and thought of how you've come together in obedience to the Word and how when I've been privileged to open up the Word and give direction, how your prayers have reflected obedience to the Word. What more could any man of God than to have a people obedient to the Word of God? And what great boldness I've found in pleading with God, Lord, would you put that spirit of obedience in your people only to mock them?

26:17 Only to mock them? No, Lord! That is not like you!

26:24 Thank God. Thank God that God's ways are changeless and the setting of God's deliverance for them will be the setting of God's deliverance for us. The path of obedience. Now then, consider in the second place the summons that then came to trust God for the deliverance.

The Summons to Trust God for Deliverance (2 Chronicles 20:20)

26:43 We have the setting of the deliverance obedience, but now the next thing we encounter in the text is a summons to trust God for that deliverance. Look at the text. And they rose early in the morning and went forth and as they went forth Jehoshaphat and it's not Jehosh you have a sin and a shim in the Hebrew Jehoshaphat stood and said Hear me, O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem Polish up your swords draw them from your scabbards oil the wheels of your military chariots

27:27 know the general cries out for the king was in that sense the general of the army. Hear me, O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in Jehovah your God so shall ye be established believe his prophets so shall ye prosper. Now notice to whom this summons comes. It comes not just to the army for we read, out the army in verse 21 but this summons comes to the entire nation.

28:03 Hear me, O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem whoever may have a peculiar part in the actual marching down to meet them this is not a summons to faith to a select few and the rest of you can be hangers on. All ye inhabitants of Jerusalem all Judah hear the summons. This summons to faith that's why we were anxious for all the membership to be present. We don't want hangers on and only a select few you'll be robbed of the blessing and in the new Israel God has made us all his warriors

28:47 God has made us all his priests and his kings and so the summons comes to the entire nation. Notice the essence of the summons it was not a call to take hold of shield and sword and buckler. No. Nor was it a summons to have courage in the midst of battle.

29:06 No, it was a summons to believe in the face of that crisis two things. Notice, the reality of the presence of the living God and the validity and certainty of his word. Notice the summons. Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in Jehovah your God.

29:29 So shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And in the Hebrew there's a play on words. The word for established and the word for believe are the same root word.

29:48 And it has the concept of being firm. So he's saying, rest firmly upon Jehovah and ye shall be firm.

29:59 You'll not be moved. But furthermore, that's, as it were, a passive promise. As you believe the word of his prophets, you'll actually prosper in your mission. And you will see your enemies overcome.

30:17 So the great significance of this summons, and I pray that God by the Spirit will open our eyes to see it this morning. God is saying through Jehoshaphat, in essence, this profound and yet simple thing. He's saying, And now as we march down in obedience to God's word to meet the enemy, what do you see?

30:39 He says, Jehoshaphat, we see three nations with all of their war chariots and all of the multitudes of their men. He says, all right, that's a fact. That's what I see too. Take a good look at it.

30:54 Now what do you see when you look at yourselves? Well, when we look at ourselves, we see from a military standpoint impotence and weakness that spell nothing. But defeat. Jehoshaphat says, well, frankly, I see the same thing.

31:09 So the thing that any neutral observer would behold if he happened to stand on a hill somewhere on that morning, when this crowd came down from Jerusalem, and that crowd is coming towards Jerusalem, all you would see is strength, might, and obvious victory about to happen. Weakness, impotence, defeat. Defeat. Defeat.

31:36 Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. Defeat.

31:36 Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. Defeat.

31:36 Defeat. Now Jehoshaphat says, those two facts, or those sets of facts, are very real. But there are two other factors that I want you to remember that hold the key to the situation. The key to the situation is not found in the military might of the three nations.

31:58 The key to what's going to happen to you is not found in your impotence and weakness. The key is in two things.

32:07 The living God. And his certain word.

32:12 Between you and the regatta of heathen armies stands Jehovah, the living God, and your cause is his cause. Believe in Jehovah your God. What's he saying? He's saying have a faith in God that is not an abstract theological principle to which you confess when you're back at Jerusalem in a worship service.

32:38 There between you and the Syrians are the Moabites and the Ammonites. And the Syrites have a present, what, firm resting place in the living God. And furthermore, believe the word of his prophets. What did Jehaziel say to you yesterday when he stood in the assembly?

33:02 Jehaziel said what? Here were his words. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed because of this multitude.

33:10 The battle's not yours. I've taken it in my hands. Believe that word, God. God says, furthermore, not only is the cause mine, my presence is with you.

33:23 Don't be afraid, verse 17. Don't be dismayed. Toar will go out against them, for the Lord is with you. In some kind of lovely, sentimental, no, no, he's with you.

33:35 To defeat those who, if they defeat you, Jehovah's defeated. It cannot be. And so the summons to trust God for deliverance. Nothing more or less than a summons to realize that in that crisis situation, it was the two invisible factors that were the fundamental key to the whole situation.

34:00 The living God, the word of his promise. And oh, do you see the application? Do I need to make it? Here we are.

34:09 A bunch of nobodies. As I said the other night, God in his providence sometimes puts men and women of great wealth in a congregation. If we had a few, two semi-millionaires and others, I'm sure as we prayed for money to build that building, God would touch their hearts and the money would be forthcoming. A bunch of paupers, relative as we are, can squeeze out $13,000 in one offering as you did three weeks ago.

34:36 Somebody means business with God at the point of his pocketbook.

34:42 The witches don't have that kind of money.

34:46 We don't even have friends that have that kind of money. Be impotent before this aggregate of opposition. A key factor. I fear that many of us have been thinking that the factors are what we can see.

35:12 We can see that estimate. $800,000 to build a building. Not a fancy building. An economical building.

35:25 And we look at ourselves and we say, no way. Well, let's see if we can. No, no way that we're going to mortgage. Even if the banks were foolish enough to give us that kind of money, you'd have to get it over the dead body of your elders.

35:39 And if you're going to mortgage, you'd have to get it over the dead body of your elders. And your deacons. Because when we entered this building program, we said, whatever we do, we will not cut back on the specific work of the gospel, which is to send out the truth of God to make disciples. We're taking on an additional faculty member for the academy next year.

35:57 We're committed to the course of training men. It won't be long before there'll be some of our own sons through that academy whom we'll have privilege to lay our hands upon and send out. Are we going to put a hand upon them and say, God bless you and stick a penny in? In his pocket and say, trust the Lord?

36:12 Not as long as some of us who are around, we won't.

36:17 No, no, we can't bring the church into that kind of indebtedness. What are we going to do? We're going to look to the two key factors that you don't see with physical eyes.

36:29 The living God and his infallible word.

36:35 The living God and his infallible word. The God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The word which does not change. The battle is not yours.

36:49 It's mine. Have I raised you up as a people? Yes, Lord, with all of our sins and failures. Have I given growth?

36:57 Yes, Lord, in spite of all our weakness and failures. We've not used carnal methods. We've not pandered to the flesh. We've not feared the faces of men.

37:07 We've sought to preach the word and exercise discipline and do what the scriptures demand of us. Lord, you've given the increase. Well, has that what's put your back against the wall? Yes, Lord.

37:19 Have I brought? Is it between the rock and the hard place? Yes, Lord. Well, then, the battle's not yours, but mine.

37:25 This is my cause, not yours.

37:31 But, Lord, time is coming when we've got to go down to meet them.

37:37 We're going to get a call one of these days from the architect. Your plans are complete. We have the building permit.

37:47 My presence is with you.

37:50 Oh, dear people, I call upon my own heart. I wish I were a Jehoshaphat who could simply say, Join me where I am. On this pinnacle of faith. But I must, as it were, stand with you and listen to our great Jehoshaphat, the Lord Jesus Christ, who says to disciples who see billowy waves, Do not be afraid. It is I.

38:16 I'm here. I'm with you.

38:22 The summons.

Specific Preparations for Deliverance: Counsel and Appointment (2 Chronicles 20:21)

38:26 But then we must hurriedly consider the specific preparations that were made for the deliverance. We've looked at the setting of the deliverance, the summons to faith, in God for deliverance, but now notice the specific preparations for deliverance. Verse 21. And when he had taken counsel, or better, when he had given or made counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing to the Lord and give praise in holy array.

38:59 Counsel and appointment are the two verbs that attract our attention. As they now are about to make specific preparations, preparations for the actual encounter with that crisis situation, it says that Jehoshaphat gave counsel. The way it is rendered in the 1901 edition, you'd get the idea that he gathered the people together and had a powwow to discuss what to do. No.

39:28 The best commentators that I've checked all say that the sense of the language is rather this, that having given the general summons to faith in the living God, then he says, Jehoshaphat is then concerned to go amongst his people and say, Aaron, have you got the message? Do you see that crowd out there? Yeah. What else do you see?

39:51 I see God. I see his word. And then he goes over to Hezekiah and says, old Hez, how you doing, brother? Oh, I'm doing fine.

39:59 King Jehoshaphat, what do you see? Man, I see a crowd of soldiers. What else do you see? I see the living God.

40:07 I see his word. He gave counsel. He gave counsel among the people. And, oh, dear people, that's what we need to do with one another in these days.

40:16 We need to encourage one another's faith. Don't be like those spies that came back and say, this is all a bunch of rubbish.

40:27 Unbelief is a contagious thing. If you're afflicted with it, will you please go into isolation?

40:38 If you're groveling in unquarantine yourself, don't infect the rest of us who are struggling to be believing. He gave counsel. And we need to, give counsel to one another. Isn't that the teaching of Romans 15, 14?

40:58 I am persuaded of you, brethren, that ye are full of goodness, full of knowledge, able to admonish one another. Oh, let's admonish one another with the words of God, with the promises of God. Let's discuss and pray over those promises and how precious it's been in the morning sessions, what we've done after we've prayed some mornings for an hour, hour and a half, and there's no virtue in the time. I'm simply recounting the principle and we've needed a change of posture.

41:30 We've then asked, what word has been precious to you in these days? And as different ones have opened up the scriptures and said, this is the word that has come home with power to my heart. This is the word. And our faith has been strengthened and confidence rises until some of us feel by the grace of God, if God will push us a few more degrees upward, we'll say we know what God will do.

41:56 So there was this, this specific preparation, counsel, but then there was appointment. Look at the language of the text. And he appointed them that should sing to the Lord and give praise in holy array. Apparently he appointed some of the Levites and he said, hey fellas, go get your official clerical guards.

42:15 So they got their beautiful priestly garments.

42:19 Now why'd they do this? Well, I'm not sure because the text doesn't say, but I got a sneaking suspicion. He said, if a wave of unbelief begins to come over the congregation, we don't want them to get inundated. So we'll make sure there've been some people charged to be engaged in the activity of faith so that if unbelief begins to sneak upon us, we'll see those Levites out in front of us singing and praising God.

42:45 And then we'll remember, believe God, believe the word of his prophet and faith will be strengthened.

42:54 And can you imagine what that must have looked like with these people out at the head of the army in priesthood, priestly garments, lining up the troops and at the forefront, no swords, no staves, no instruments of war, but men prepared to sing a hallelujah chorus to the living God. And oh, as we prepare ourselves to secure the blessing God has for us and we know not what it is, let us, as I've exhorted you, take counsel with one another. Let us, in the language of Hebrews, provoke each other unto love and good works. And then let us seek to be a company of praisers.

The Details of God's Miraculous Deliverance (2 Chronicles 20:22-24)

43:36 Let us seek to be praising our God that the battle is his and the cause is his. Now, very quickly then, the details of the deliverance, verses 22 to 24.

43:49 The details of the deliverance.

43:53 We've passed over the theme of their song, the loving kindness of God. We'll have occasion to touch on it in a minute. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord, the Lord set liars in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir that were come out against Judah and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir utterly to slay and to destroy them.

44:20 And when they made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another. Now, you kids, you like stories, don't you? Here's a true story that's more exciting than any false story or fairy story you ever read. Now, use your imagination this morning.

44:34 Get the picture. Get the picture. Here, Jehoshaphat is appointed the official singers in holy array. All their beautiful, flowing, priestly garments.

44:44 And behind them is the army with all of their swords sheathed. With all their bows in the quiver. All their arrows in the quiver. The bows slung up.

44:53 They don't look like they're ready for war. No, because God had said, you're going down, but stand still. You're not going down to be warriors. You're going down to be witnesses of what I'm going to do.

45:03 I'm going to do the fight and you're going to do the witnessing. You just watch me. So here they come. Now, can you imagine what went through the minds of this crowd?

45:12 At this point, the most they could be apart when they met in the plains, went down to the plains of Tekoa. That's Tekoa. That's about 10 miles from Jerusalem. The day before, the other armies were 15 miles away.

45:23 So if they hadn't moved at all, there was just five miles between them. But the implication is, that army had moved closer. Now they're getting eyeball to eyeball. You know, this is before the days of long-range ballistics and all the rest.

45:34 You didn't fight. You didn't fight a man until you got close enough to touch or tear his flesh. So here they come. They're getting close to the eyeball situation.

45:42 Can you imagine what this crowd of Moabites and Ammonites must have thought? Here they come, bows all drawn, spears all poised, chariot wheels rolling. And what comes out to meet them? They see these characters dressed in these beautiful Sunday go-to-meeting clothes.

45:59 Can you see the situation? Can you use your imagination this morning? And here they come. The fellows in the Sunday go-to-meeting clothes.

46:07 And they're like, they're looking at them straight on. And at first, the crowd probably didn't know whether to laugh, whether to rub their eyes and say, maybe we had a little too much around the campfire last night. Are we seeing things as we ought to see? What in the world is going on here?

46:22 And they get closer. And these fellows come a-marching with the bows drawn. And these fellows just keep coming straight at them. Silent as people in a court.

46:35 And when they get close enough, as the battle's just about to be engaged, you know what this crowd does? Someone takes out a little pitch pipe. Doo! Someone turns around and raises his hand and comes with a downbeat.

46:49 And out of their mouth, what comes? Look at the language. Give thanks unto the Lord! His mercy endures forever!

47:00 And the text says, When they began to sing, the first line was out of their mouth. And you know what happened? Suddenly a messenger came up and said to one of the generals, GENERAL! GENERAL! GENERAL! GENERAL!

47:15 There's someone attacking our right flank! What are we going to do? And while he's trying to give counsel to him, another runner comes up and says, GENERAL! GENERAL!

47:25 Someone's attacking our left flank! Well, we've got to take care of the...

47:29 Oh my, we've got to take care of... What in the world are we going to do?

47:34 That's in the text! The Lord set liars in wait. Apparently some roaming hordes that said, Here are some hotshot soldiers with lots of military hardware. Let's do a little brigand work here and let's get a few.

47:57 Then we've got their swords and their bows and a few chariots. Then we can carry on our own designs. And after that little crowd got them all confused, they got so mixed up that you know what they did? They started turning on one another and killing each other.

48:12 That's exactly what the text said. The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir. They said, It's probably you guys that we don't know too well. You probably did it.

48:22 And they said, We didn't do it. And so they started to fight amongst themselves. And then there were probably some of the Ammonites that said, Hey, you Moabites, go easy on the Seirites. And they said, Well, you on their side?

48:32 I'm going to go after you too. And they go whacking away. And their heads start rolling. And the blood starts flowing.

48:37 Until the text says what? Verse 24. And when Judah came to the watchtower, they just keep marching right on singing, Let his lovingkindness endure. They go right on singing.

48:51 And they come to a place where they can look down upon the multitudes. And what do they see? Look at the language. They looked upon the multitude before which they quaked in fear and trembling.

49:04 And behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth and there were none that escaped. What a day. What a day. When God came forth to the deliverance of his people.

49:24 You see what God did? He came in a way unpredicted and unpredictable, unexpected, but marvelous.

49:34 And what won the day? Two things, God and his word.

49:41 The two key factors won the day.

God's Unpredictable Ways and Infinite Possibilities

49:45 And I'm sure some of you have thought of the incident in 2 Kings chapter 7. You remember in the ministry of Elisha, a similar situation? Here the Syrians are encamped against the people of God and Elisha makes the prediction tomorrow they'll all be done in and plundered. And one man who was a smart aleck said, Hey, Elisha, take your religion serious, but man, if God should open up heaven, this could never happen.

50:12 And he said, look, you'll hear about it, but you'll never know the blessings of it in the next day. That's exactly what happened. You know what God did in that instance? He played a trick on their ears.

50:22 It says, God caused them to hear the sound of military activity. And they thought the Israelites were coming to get them and they all split. And they left the camp and they left all the booty in there. And you remember those two lepers came in and said, Man, oh man, what in the world's happened around here?

50:39 This is great. And they start to glut themselves. He says, hey, you know, we've got a bunch of people in need. Let's not be stingy.

50:45 They go back and they give the news. You see, Almighty God is not bound to work by the means that we prescribe for him.

50:55 When God is determined to get to himself a name, you can't predict God. What's God going to do? I don't have a clue as to what he's going to do.

51:08 You see, I'm disappointed, Pastor. I thought you could tell us God came to you in a vision of the night and said by September 1st, God is going to send in $250,000. If I did, I'd be a liar. And if I said it, I'd hope you'd stand up and call me an imposter.

51:24 I don't know what God's going to do.

51:28 How can you predict the ways of a God who does something like this? Come on now, answer me. How can you predict the ways of a God who does something like that? The possibilities are infinite because God is infinite.

51:42 You say, are you believing that God's going to change that clay into solid soil? No. I have no doubt he could if he wanted to.

51:52 And if they took another boring and said, that's what happened, that wouldn't get me upset.

51:59 No, it's not his general way. I only use that to illustrate the principle.

52:04 God can take the heart of a contractor who says, for some crazy reason, you know, I've just made too much profit this year and I need to write off some taxes. Can I do your work for nothing?

52:14 You say, sure. We're glad. We're glad. No problems with that.

52:20 Oh, do you begin to see the opportunities and possibilities are as infinite as God. You say, isn't that rather un-business-like? Yes, it may be. Human business, but not God business.

52:34 And we worship this God. God is our God forever and ever and he will be our guide even unto death.

52:45 You say, this is sheer fanaticism. All right, my friend, if you want nice, polite, humanistic religion, go ahead. There's a hundred places where you can have it wholesale. Go ahead.

52:55 Go ahead. I want to be around here when God comes forth for our deliverance.

53:05 If I believed in reincarnation, I'd even be willing to become a fly on the wall to see it.

53:14 Oh, may God be pleased, dear people, by his word and by his spirit to remind us that the God who brought deliverance in so marked and miraculous a way is the God who can work. He can work with us today. But you see, you can't predict it. In this instance, God didn't do what we'd call anything supernatural.

53:35 He didn't send angels down to discomfort them. He didn't even send thunderclouds out of a clear Palestinian sky. All he did was put it into the heart of some roving bands of commanders to seize upon the flanks of these armies. That's all.

53:54 Now, another time, as we read in 2 Corinthians 7 or 2 Chronicles 7 or 2 Corinthians 7 or 2 Chronicles 7 I'm sorry, I've got it now. I knew it was a K or a C in there. What he did is he played a trick on the people's eardrums and he caused them to hear a sound. That, you see, was a more unusual means.

54:12 This was a more normal means. God is not bound. He's free to be God.

Call to Believe and Reap Unexpected Spoils

54:19 But we are not free to believe him or disbelieve him. We are obligated to believe this God who has never given us any grounds to disbelieve him. My call to you is, God's people this morning is the call of Jehoshaphat only in the sense that I quote the words of God. I am no Jehoshaphat.

54:44 I am no prophet. I am a servant of the word and with you a disciple of that word. But the call of the prophet of the king was believe in Jehovah. So shall ye be established.

54:58 Believe his prophets. So shall ye prosper. You see, as we come to the study tonight we'll notice that the first fruit of this deliverance was the reaping of unexpected spoils. And God's already caused us to reap many unexpected spoils from this crisis.

55:18 There are people who've come to me and said, Pastor, I have known a nearness of the Lord Jesus and the preciousness of his presence that I haven't known in years. If nothing more happened than what happened in past nights, it's been worth it.

55:35 The spoils are already, they're already being reaped before we've seen the nature of the deliverance God will bring. That's why we're jealous that you not be on the outside. You see, that's why I didn't scold those of you who were absent and could have been present. My heart breaks for you.

55:53 You robbed yourself of something that cannot be repaid. But thank God you need not go mourning. You can say, Lord, forgive me. Forgive me for my coolness and unbelief.

Call to Unbelievers: Join the Ranks of God's People

56:06 But Lord, what I've heard this morning, I long to stand with the armies of God and see you rout the enemies. Oh Lord, oh Lord, have dealings with me. And in a crowd this size, I'm sure, there are numbers of you strangers to God's grace. And you've sat there this morning and said, for the life of me, I can't figure that crazy preacher out.

56:30 He seems to have his head screwed on at least half right, but half of what he said this morning seemed crazy. You put those two things, together, well, the answer is very simple.

56:43 Jesus said, or John said, the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. You see, what you can understand is we live and think in a realm that's foreign to you. You live to fill your belly with food and to gratify your physical senses and to live for this life and then to die and go to hell. But we live in the light of that unseen world of spiritual reality.

57:10 And that's the basic answer, my friend, and you'll never, you'll never understand that world till you come by the door of what the scripture calls Christian conversion until you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner who has forfeited all claims to God's mercy and favor, who deserves his wrath for your pride and self-centeredness and self-sufficiency, so-called. And you stand stripped and helpless before the God of the universe and hearing him say of his own dear, your son, this is my son, hear him. You look to Christ and hear him say, come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.

57:53 You throw yourself upon the mercy of God in Christ and Christ will take you in hand, bring you through that narrow gate, cleanse you of your sins, break the chains that bind you, give you his Holy Spirit, and then he'll give you eyes to see what we've begun to see and ears to hear what we hear and a heart to love the things the people of God love. Oh, may God use even this word that has been almost exclusively to the people of God to whet your appetite to join our ranks. Come join this holy band and on to Zion go.

58:34 My friend, it's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. It's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. Those husks you feed on and you think they're steak, husks are husks, my friend. Christ is the bread of life.

58:51 Come and feed upon him. And oh, dear people of God, feed upon this passage. And may God bring us together again full of expectancy as we see the wonderful sequel to God's deliverance in the final section of this portion of the Word of God. Let us pray.

Prayer of Expectancy and Trust

59:10 Our Father, what can we say when once more we've been privileged to behold you? As the living God,

59:22 as we've sought this morning to relive that incident in the history of your ancient people.

59:30 Oh, we want to laugh. We want to shout when we think of how you confounded those mighty armies who came forth thinking that nothing was present on the day of battle but numerical strength and military logistical strength. But before the day was over, Lord, you showed them that you were God, even in that frightening judgment. Oh, Lord, show yourself to be God to us again, not in judgment, but in mercy.

60:08 Great God who raised your Son from the dead, seated him at your right hand, come with power and meet us, we pray, in our crisis of need. We do believe you. We do believe the word of your prophets. Strengthen our faith.

60:26 Give us the grace of waiting. Oh, give us the grace of waiting. Until we see the bearing of your arm, we do not tell you how to bear it. The options before you, O Lord, are as infinite as you are.

60:41 And we wait. We wait, O God. Hear our prayers and receive our praises.