Take your bibles and turn to 2 Chronicles 20. We’re going to start in verse 17 and then we’re going to back up and get into the chapter a little bit.
(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: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
What strikes me about this verse is something that many in the Body of Christ have difficulty in doing. We will seek the Lord about something but we often don’t have the patience to wait for Him. That’s another way of saying we don’t have the faith to wait for Him.
Patience and Faith go hand in hand and that’s why we see God saying “stand ye still, and see the salvation.”
Now “stand still” doesn’t mean just sit back and say “God I’m trusting you and I’m not going to do anything.” That’s not what that means. We’re going to see as we read the record that what God is telling the people to stand still on is “the promise He made to them about the battle.” So the standing still is standing firm in your faith that what God says He will do.
Now go back up to verse 1.
(1) It came to pass after this also,
[What this is referring to is what happened in chapters 18 and 19. In chapter 18, Jehoshaphat went to battle with Ahab, the rebellion king of Israel. So, Jehoshaphat went to battle with a king who was in rebellion to God and he almost dies. Ahab dies in the battle.
In chapter 19, Jehoshaphat returns home and is met by the prophet Jehu, who reads him the riot act. “You went to battle with the ungodly. Why on earth would you do this?” And we see this in verse 2: “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD?” Jehoshaphat responds by taking the kingdom of Judah and reestablishing its reverence toward God. This is the back drop to verse one of chapter 20.
(1) It came to pass after this also, that 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.
The first thing we see in these verses that the enemy came upon Judah suddenly and without warning. And look at Jehoshaphat’s response.
(3) And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
The word “fear” means “terror, fright, intimidation. And the word “himself” means “face” and the word “seek” means to inquire or consult. Jehoshaphat turns away from the message – the upcoming attack – to seek the counsel from the One who has ability to deal with the attack.
So we see here in verse 3 that when Jehoshaphat was faced with a sudden and unexpected attack, his first response was fear and intimidation. Then he realizes that God just saved him in a battle that he never should have been in. So he says, I need to seek My God, the one who saved me, and find out what I need to do.
How many times have you had something like this happen and God was not your first thought? (I held up my hand.) One of the reasons we don’t think about God first is because that is not how we are taught. We taught that we need to figure out how to handle it.
Now I want you to listen what the Lord shared with me about this.
“If My Word is not hidden in your heart before the attacks come, your fear will strip you of your authority over the situation. 2 Timothy 1:7. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Now let’s make this a confession. “Father, whenever I am faced with the unexpected, I thank you that you have given me a spirit that is fearless. And I thank you that I am filled with your power. I am filled with your love. And I think with a sound mind.”
Now I’m going to finish reading this word from the Lord.
“If My Word is not hidden in your heart before the attacks come, your fear will strip you of your authority over the situation. My life in you gives you authority over the kingdom of the enemy. But you must choose to exercise that authority. The enemy is a skilled strategist and attacks areas of weakness – areas where there is a perceived lack of authority. If he can get you to believe that he has control in that area of attack then he has succeeded in convincing you not to choose to exercise your authority in that area.”
So how do we choose to exercise our authority? By doing what we just did with 2 Timothy 1:7. We spoke the word and we made it personal.
Now skip down to verse 12. In verses four through 11, Jehoshaphat is reminding God what He has promised to the children of Judah and what He will do for them.
(12) O our God, will 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 is the king of Judah and he is publicly saying that they cannot win this battle. And he also tells them that he doesn’t know what to do. But then he makes the most important statement in this verse: We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.”
After reading this, the Lord said “When your eyes are focused on Me, you are looking beyond the situation to your deliverance.” When we are faced with uncertainty, the first thing we must do is turn our faces to our Father and say we don’t know what to do. We are looking you for guidance.
(13) And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Can you see the example that Jehoshaphat, the king, is setting for the children of the kingdom? He’s telling them “God is really your only source. He’s the one you turn to when you need answers.”
Let’s read verses 15, 16 and 17. The spirit of the Lord comes upon one of the priests and we’re about to read what he says to Judah.
(15) And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, [They are about to receive God’s instructions and I want you to notice the first thing he says.] Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
I want you to listen to what the word “dismayed” means. It means “to be shattered or broken.” And this is exactly what the enemy of the soul wants to do to us. He wants to shatter or break in pieces the how we perceive God’s promises to us in times of trouble.
One way at looking at the last part of the verse: “Do not fear or lose heart by what you see.” Faith says we believe and then we see. Faith doesn’t say we believe part and receive part. No. Either you have faith or you don’t have faith. So the Lord is telling Judah, have faith in what I am saying. Trust Me.
I asked God, as I was reading this: “Why is the battle not ours but yours?” And He said “Barry, the battle has always been mine. It has always been mine. And the only I can fight a battle the way it needs to be fought is to find men and women who line up with Me to help Me do the fighting.”
(16) To morrow go ye down against them:
[The Lord was telling Judah to take their “authority” by attacking the invading armies. In other words, I want you to take your authority and go on the offensive. What is the analogy for us today? Remember what Jesus did in Matthew 4 when He was tempted by the devil? “It is written.” If Jesus is going to fight the enemy with the Word of God, what should we fight the enemy with? The Word of God!]
(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: fear not nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
Did you catch that small word? “See the salvation of the Lord WITH you.” There is no deliverance, there is no salvation, without you doing your part. You will have to be in agreement with God! He is not going to go against you to deliver you. Listen, God is not going to force us to be delivered.
Notice God says “the BATTLE is not yours.” There’s a difference between a battle and a fight. Winning the battle is the ultimate goal but there will be many fights along the way.
The phrase “set yourselves” means “to place, set, stand or station yourself.” And the definition I like most says “to present yourself.” In other words, God is telling Judah, I want you to give yourselves to Me knowing that I am fighting the battle.
And the phrase “stand ye still” – stand ye still on what? On what God has spoken. Judah is standing on God’s Word.
The Bible says God sent His word and healed us and delivered us from all destruction. We stand still on that Word by believing what that word says..
The Bible says for my God will supply all our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. We stand still on that Word by believing what that word says.
So, what have we seen in this record this morning?
? The enemy’s attacks will sometimes be sudden and unexpected.
? The first reaction of the people was to fear.
? The people were outnumbered and believed they would be captured.
? King Jehoshaphat tells the people to have faith, to stand still and watch the Lord deliver them.
? The word of the Lord to the people: do not fear. Trust Me. I will fight for you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the attacks will come and they will keep coming. But we can rest assured, we are not in this alone. Our Heavenly Father is with us in every fight – every fight because He knows the battle is already won.
So, we can lay our heads down at night knowing having put our lives in the hands of our Father, in the hands of One who loves us, in the hands of the One who will protect us. Amen!
