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2 Chronicles 20:1-22

15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliver-ance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

The Decisive Moment

What will he do? A man may do many things in a time of crisis. Some cover up, some give up,

others panic, still others deny they have a problem.

Verse 3 reveals the key response: “Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord.” Everything turns

on that fact.

This was the decisive moment. It’s not the crisis that destroys men; it’s what we do or don’t do

when the crisis hits. No one can avoid a moment like this.

My Weapons are Not natural;

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but might through God to the pulling down of

stringhilds.

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In all of history, this had to be one of the most unconventional ways to try to defend a country

under siege.

Review

Who ever heard of an army being led by a group of singers and musicians? But sing and play

they did! Here is the true account from the Bible's book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20.

Jehoshaphat prayed. "O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in Heaven?

Then a young priest named Jahaziel prophesied with a loud voice, "Thus says the Lord to you:

'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but

God's!" God had heard and come to answer their prayers.

"You will not need to fight in this battle," God's message through Jahaziel continued. "Position

yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you!"

King Jehoshaphat bowed to the ground in worship. The crowd followed the king's lead, while the

priests raised their voices to praise the Lord.

The next morning as the troops made preparations for battle, King Jehoshaphat encouraged them.

"Believe in the Lord your God, and so shall you be established. Have faith in His prophets, and

so shall you have good success."

The king consulted with the people, and it was decided that singers should lead the troops into

battle. That daring step of faith showed that they believed God would fight for them.

No sooner had they begun to sing and praise than God "set ambushes against the people of Am-

mon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated."

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First the men of Ammon and Moab rose up against those of Seir, and when they had destroyed

them, the two armies destroyed each other.

• I have to provide a place for the Presence of God.

• That is what Jehosapaht did. He is preparing a place for God to show up.

• God never intrdues, demands or pushes himself.

• He does not have too, if he didn’t show us how to then that would make God indifferent.

• God makes himself available if he doesn’t show up it’s because he was not invivted.

The combination of

Prayer (20:3-13),

Prophecy (20:14-17), and

Praise (20:18-22) brought him the victory.

(We wonder how the choir of Levites felt about going out before the army. But worship is a

great weapon against the enemy.)

The apostle Paul said I have fought a good fight, well if there are good fights then there must be

some bad ones. You can have a bad fight and win and have a good fight and lose.

Joseph seemed to have lost the battle with Potiphar and his wife. Jacob fought with an angel and

lost, it was so bad that he needed a hip replacement, but yet the result of both is their loss was ac-

tually their victory.

They lost what could have been gained in the moment but gained the victory that comes by keep-

ing your faith. Jesus told Peter that Satan desired to sift him; Jesus response was I have prayed

for you, that your faith may not fail.

The writer of Hebrews in 11:24-26 says, “by faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be

known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God

rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

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He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, be-

cause he was looking ahead to his reward.”

What is the reward? But without faith it is impossible to please God for he that comes to God

must believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. So what’s all the hoopla

about, your faith?

Ephesians 6 says Above all take the shield of faith.

Marching Orders: Spiritual preparation is the most important step and then we begin to move in

sequence.

The first thing: Positioned Praise

Define Praise:

• The dictionary defines praise as “to commend or to applaud based on personal worth or ac-

tions; to extol in words of song; or to magnify or glorify based on perfections or excellent

works.”

• The Scriptures tell us to sing praises, speak praises, declare praise among the people, and to

praise with instruments, lifting of hands, clapping, banners, shouting, and dance (Ps. 9:11; 9:14;

33:2; 63:4; 47:1; 20:5; 27:6; 150:4).

• It is extremely important to note that praise must be expressed. Praise is only praise when it is

demonstrated. We can meditate quietly on the Scriptures or wait silently for God’s voice, but

these actions are not praise.

• Praise demands that we voice our adoration and demonstrate our appreciation.

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Praise carries with it an air of excitement, celebration, and boldness. We will not all praise alike

since each of us have different emotional make-ups.

• Though praise is often noisy and loud, praise is always demonstrated.

Send Judah First

In the book of Judges we see 2 instances where the Lord said the tribe of Judah is to go up first

against their enemies in battle.

The first occurrence is found in Judges Chapter 1 following the death of Joshua. When the chil-

dren of Israel inquired of the Lord who should go up first against the Canaanites, the Lord re-

sponded, "Judah shall go up. . . " (Judges 1:2 NASB).

The second is found in Judges 20:18, when once again the children of Israel inquired of the Lord

who was to go up first against the sons of Benjamin. Again, the Lord’s answer to them was "Ju-

dah shall go up first ".

The question they ask is, who shall go up first? v. And why must Judah be first in this undertak-

ing?

1. Judah was the most numerous and powerful tribe, and therefore let Judah venture first. Note,

God appoints service according to the strength he has given. Those that are most able, from them

most work is expected.

2. Judah was first served; the lot came up for Judah first, and therefore Judah must first fight.

3. Judah was the tribe out of which our Lord was to spring: so that in Judah, Christ, the Lion of

the tribe of Judah, went before them. Christ engaged the powers of darkness first, and foiled

them, which animates us for our conflicts; and it is in him that we are more than conquerors.

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Satan wants to steal your song…. my song, because he knows if he can stop our song of worship

and praise, he can defeat us more easily.  But when we sing and praise in the middle of our bat-

tle, “the Lord sets ambushes against the enemy!!”

When Judah came over the hill, they saw that the three armies had destroyed each other.  They

picked up the spoils of war and didn’t have to fight for them.  God fought this battle for them,

and He will do the same for you.

 

What does Praise and Worship Do!

Reconnaissance

In the Iraqi War the United States and their allies knew that they were up against some of the

most modern, up-to-date defenses in all the world.

The war was waged in two parts. During the first part, known as Desert Watch or Desert Shield,

the United Sates flew reconnaissance flights to monitor the movements and strengths and weak-

nesses of the enemy.

Because of the reconnaissance flights, we learned that Iraq had employed the most modern, state

of the art radar systems. The United States knew if we were to be successful with limited casual-

ties, we should have somehow by-pass Iraq’s radar system. This was achieved by stealth

bombers, which enabled us to mount an attack without being detected on radar.

The presence of God dismantles the enemy’s communications and plans and

sets an ambush among them.

It says there was an ambush, the following scriptures reveal how the enemy became confused

and heard a sound that confused them.

1 Samuel 14:20

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Judges 7:22

2 Kings 7:5-7

Judges 7:19-22

Joshua 6:20-21

Joshua 2:8-11

True Praise

• The sound interrupts what the enemy has declared

• Declares God is with us

• Interrupts the platform of command

Tell the enemy no! My worship tells the enemy no!