Many of you are much too young to remember the 1965 title bout between the Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali and the man he defeated for the title, Sonny Liston a year earlier. Ali knocked Liston out in the first round with a right cross to his left temple that he never saw coming.
Ali’s punch was unexpected, unforeseen and not anticipated – by anyone who was watching the fight. But here’s the key: Ali was looking for an opportunity to throw that particular punch. He had studied Liston’s fighting style and how he anticipated punches.
Ladies and gentlemen, in this example, the enemy of the soul, Satan, is just like Muhammad Ali. He studies us. He looks for weaknesses. He looks for vulnerabilities. Then he decides on a plan of attack. And often, just like Muhammad Ali, he lands the unexpected, unforeseen and unanticipated punch that has the spiritual force to take us out.
How many of you have been in situations like this? Well, tonight we’re going to talk about how to respond to the unexpected.
Now I want you to hear what I’m about to say next. How we respond to the unexpected is determined by how we’ve prepared ourselves in advanced.
We know we have an adversary who walks about seeking people to devour. When we’re not prepared, he Johnny-on-the-spot ready to devour us. But when we are prepared, we respond in such a way that opens up the floodgates of heaven so God can move on our behalf.
We’re going to be in 2 Chronicles 20 and looking at Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah who was a descendant of Asa, who was a descendant of David.
When you look at 2 Chronicles 17, 18 and 19 you’ll see in Jehoshaphat a humble heart and a relationship with the Lord. This is where our victories begin – by humble before the Lord and having a relationship with Him that has been developed by spending time in His presence.
So, in 2 Chronicles 20 let’s begin with verse one.
(1) It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
(2) Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
(3) And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
When Jehoshaphat hears about the armies coming against him, his first response was fear. But that was not his last response. The phrase “set himself” paints the image of him physically turning his back to the problem so that he could “see the Lord’s face” and receive His counsel.
The word “seek” in this verse is best understood by looking at Deuteronomy 4:29-31.
(29) But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Notice that the very first time the word “seek” is used it’s referring to finding God. That’s a promise.
(30) When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
What did Jehoshaphat do? He from the problem and to the Lord.
(31) (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Jehoshaphat sought the Lord knowing that he would answer him. How often have we approached God knowing that He’d answer our prayers? Many of us go to Him thinking or hoping He’ll answer our prayers. Thinking and hoping is not knowing.
Now I want you listen to what I’m about to say. Placing doubt in our minds about God’s goodness and willingness to bless is one of Satan’s most effective strategies. He knows that doubt attached to prayer means unanswered prayer.
So, how do we focus on God when the unexpected, the unforeseen or the unanticipated happens?
The first key: Focus on God and not the problem.
(4) And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
The second key: Ask others to seek God with you.
(5) And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
(6) And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
(7) Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
(8) And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
(9) If, when evil cometh upon us, [What does this tell us ladies and gentlemen? Evil is going to come. We don’t have to invite it. We can’t pray it away. We can’t confess it away. Evil is going to come into our lives.] as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
In the midst of all Judah Jehoshaphat reminds the Lord of His covenant relationship with Israel. He wanted the people to know what he already knew – that the Lord would keep His promise. What do we call this today? Confessing what God has said!
First John 3:1 says that we are God’s sons and daughters. We belong to Him. We are His possession. Ephesians 1:13 & 14 say we are sealed with the holy spirit of promise and we are a purchased possession. Colossians 1:13 says we have been delivered from the power of darkness. And because we are God’s children, Hebrews 4:16 says we can approach the throne of grace boldly and receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it!
When we come to God is confidence, we acknowledge that He’s the only one who can help us, who can rescue us, who can restore us. We open the door for Him to do what He really wants to do for us.
The key to responding to the unexpected: Acknowledge God for who He is.
(10) 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 from them, and destroyed them not;
(11) Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
(12) O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
Jehoshaphat did something that most leaders would never do publicly – he admitted that Judah couldn’t win the fight. And what’s even more amazing is he said they don’t even know what to do!
One translation of verse 12 says “and we are at a loss on what to do: but our eyes are upon you.” Another says “despairing hearts that know not where else to turn, we look to thee.”
How many of us are willing to admit it when we are in over our heads and we can’t figure out what to do or where to begin? We don’t like to admit we don’t know. We don’t like to admit we don’t have the answer. We don’t like to admit that we need God.
(13) And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
The fourth key: By faith put your deliverance in God’s hands.
(14) Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
(15) And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
The New American Bible renders the last part of this verse as “Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. We will respond in one of two ways: based on what we can see or based on the unseen – faith.
Jehoshaphat dismissed his fears, not because they were not real, but because he made a deliberate decision to put his trust in the living God. I don’t care if my furnace just went out and I don’t have the money to repair it. I am going to depend on God. I don’t care if the engine of my car dies. I am going to depend on God. That is what Jehoshaphat is saying.
Joyce Meyer wrote a book years ago titled “Be Anxious for Nothing” and there’s a sentence that is worth the price of book if all of the other pages were blank. And it’s the very first sentence: “Peace is to be the normal condition for us as believers in Jesus Christ.”
When we act in faith we make a conscious decision not to fear. When we act in faith we turn our faces away from the problem and toward the Lord and His promises.
The fifth key to responding to the unexpected: Dismiss your fears and trust your Heavenly Father.
(16) Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
(17) Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: [This the same thing Moses told the children of Israel as they stood before the Red Sea before it parted.] fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
When we can trust God to be God and to wait on Him, then we are truly placing our cares (worries and anxieties) on Him. The hard part, ladies and gentlemen, is the waiting. But we have to get to the point that we are willing to wait and while we are waiting we are continuing to seek His face.
(18) And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
(19) And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
I believe that when Jehoshaphat bowed down he was taking his position – a position of worship. When we can praise God and worship Him in the midst of the unexpected, the unforeseen and the unanticipated, He can calm our internal seas so that we can focus on Him.
Now listen to me. Worship is an invitation to God to fill wherever we are with His presence and power. When we praise and worship God, when we turn our faces toward Him we set our eyes upon Him and His abilities and not our own abilities.
The last key: Praise and Worship Him!
Now that the people know that the battle is assured, they get up early! They can’t wait to see how God is going to deliver them!
(20) And they rose early in the morning, and 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; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
(21) And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
Jehoshaphat says we don’t have to praise God for the victory. We already have that. Let’s just praise God for who He is! We don’t praise God to get Him to do something for us. We praise God because we love Him. Nothing more.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have always had the victory. When we face difficulties, we should never be concerned about the outcome. Say this with me: God is our Father. Satan has been defeated.
(22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Whose battle was this to fight? God’s. And what was Judah’s role? To sing and praise the Lord – worship! How can anyone not want to praise and worship after reading this record?
(23) For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
(24) And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
(25) And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
Now jump down to verse 29.
(29) And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
(30) So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
Second Chronicles 20 provides a power example of what happens when God’s people focus on Him and not on their problem when there is nowhere else to turn. When we face situations of uncertainty, stress and fear, we can follow Jehoshaphat’s example:
• We must focus our attention on God and not the problem.
• We can ask others to seek God with us.
• We acknowledge God for who He is.
• We put our deliverance in God’s hands.
• We must set aside our fears and not worry or be anxious.
• And finally, we must praise and worship God.
Everyone please stand.
