INTRODUCTION
If you are like me, you probably have asked yourself the question, “WHAT AM I TO DO?” many times over the span of your lifetime. You know those times when that question comes to your mind. Times when you find yourself in a situation where you are over your head, you don’t know which way to turn; or where to go.
And I can tell you that in 2020, that question “what am I to do” keeps popping up for me. It is a recurring question in my life as Pastor of Bala Chitto Baptist Church. For example, what am I to do to get all our church folks back together again? I miss not having all our church family today on Sunday morning- some in the church building; some in their cars listening over the radio, or others waiting for the sermon to get posted to Facebook. It would be great to be back together again but honestly what am I to do to get us there.
Another example would be, what am I do to keep unity in the church when we all have such varying viewpoints about the pandemic itself, whether we should wear mask or not wear mask; whether we should follow the government’s mandates or not. What am I do to as pastor to keep church members from clashing over differing opinions?
Honestly, this situation is over my head. Seminary never taught me in all my years there what to do when we would face a pandemic. The Baptist Association in Jackson has not given us much guidance because they are trying to figure out what they need to do. And I cannot get much help from my fellow pastors because they are in the same boat that I am in trying to keep their flock together.
And so, when you don’t know what to do, the best place to turn is to the Word of God. Therefore, I went looking in my Bible for a time when a person, or a group of people or even a nation didn’t know what to do, they were over their head in the situation that confronted them; to see what they did to achieve a favorable outcome. I don’t mind copying something someone else in the Bible did and applying it to my life because if it worked for them and brought them a favorable outcome; it may do the same thing in my life.
And so, I found what I was looking for in 2 Chronicles 20, the first 15 verses. So, if you have your Bibles turn to 2 Chronicles 20:1-15. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
SCRIPTURE
2 Chronicles 20:1-15 (NKJV)
1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar" (which is En Gedi).
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 and said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?
8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,
9 'If disaster comes upon us--sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine--we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.'
10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir--whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them--
11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.
12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.
14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came 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, in the midst of the assembly.
15 And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! 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.
Background
King Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. We can say that he was a God-fearing king because during his reign, he cleaned up the idolatry in his land; he established some spiritual reforms and he sent judges throughout the land to handle disputes among his people fairly.
He was doing all the right stuff, but what I have learned in life is that you can be doing the right stuff and yet you wake up one day and there is a problem staring you in the face that you cannot handle. That is what happened to Jehoshaphat. He hears news that the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others are coming to attack him. And to make it worse, people were coming to the king with reports that described the invading forces as a great multitude. And he did what any person would do in that situation, he feared. He probably feared for his beloved Judah, for his people and himself. And some people stop right there, they let fear paralyze them. But not Jehoshaphat. And so, what he did is what we need to do when we don’t know what to do.
Point #1
JEHOSHAPHAT SOUGHT TO INQUIRE OF THE LORD THROUGH PRAY AND FASTING.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
Last week, I talked about the tools in our spiritual tool chest. And I told you sometimes you must use different tools to fit the situation. To resist the devil, we might want to use prayer to get the devil to flee, but the best tool is to submit.
Well, today, I learn something else about my spiritual tool chest. I have noticed that a worker might be using one type of tool with his right hand and a different type of tool in his left hand to work on the same problem. For example, the worker might be using a screwdriver in his right hand and a pair of plyers in his left hand to tighten a screw and a bolt.
Jehoshaphat to inquire of the Lord is going to use two tools: pray and fasting to inquire of the Lord. We don’t pull out that fasting tool too often, but maybe we need to.
You ask why did Jehoshaphat inquire of the Lord? First and foremost, Jehoshaphat wanted to know what the Lord was going to do about this situation. Think about your life for a second. Do you go to God first and inquire what He is going to do, or do you begin to work on your plan to deal with the problem? Jehoshaphat had no plan but to inquire of the Lord. And when he inquires of the Lord, he transfers this battle from his own camp to God’s camp.
Point #2
JEHOSHAPHAT TRANSFERRED THE BATTLE FROM HIS CAMP TO GOD’S CAMP BY HONESTLY TELLING GOD WE DON’T HAVE THE POWER TO FIGHT OFF THIS ENEMY.
12 For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us.
The king would know the number of soldiers that he had at his service; the king would know the number of weapons that he has for use by his soldiers; and the king would know the number of chariots that he could use in the battle. And if you and I were king most of us would do is this: God, I got this but since this is a great multitude, I am going to need some help from you. God, back me up. We have not learned that either I fight my battle; or God’s fights my battle, but God never agrees to be my back up.
A couple years ago a license plate became popular that said that God is my co-pilot. And that is so untrue. Either He is your pilot; or you are the pilot, but He is no your co-pilot. He does not take backup position.
Jehoshaphat knew that; he did not have the men, weapons, or chariots to successfully fight this battle. So, He says, I don’t have the power, but You do. Use your power. We, as Christians, need to start asking God more to use His power.
Point #3
JEHOSHAPHAT TRANSFERRED THE BATTLE FROM HIS CAMP TO GOD’S CAMP BY HONESTLY TELLING GOD WE DONOT HAVE A PLAN OF ATTACK.
12 nor do we know what to do
Notice what Jehoshaphat didn’t do. He didn’t call his commanders into the royal palace and tell them to go develop the best plan of attack so that when I go talk to God I can share it with Him because He may want to use our plan.
No, Jehoshaphat doesn’t present God with a plan as to how this should work out. How many of us when we go to God have a plan how this might work out and we present God with it?
Jehoshaphat by saying to God we don’t have a plan; Jehoshaphat is saying do it anyway you want so that you might receive the glory. And if you read the rest of the story God’s plan was unique- only He could get the victory this way. He told Judah to send out singers and have them sing praises to Me and when they began to sing praises, the enemies turned on each other and was defeated.
Now that’s a God plan, I would never come up with that plan in 1,000 years.
Point 4
JEHOSHAPHAT TRANSFERRED THE BATTLE FROM HIS CAMP TO GOD’S CAMP BY TELLING GOD OUR EYES ARE ON YOU.
12 but our eyes are upon You.
Jehoshaphat says our eyes are vertical. We are looking to the heavens. We are looking to you, God. It reminds me of something similar that David said. Psalm 121:1-2 (NKJV)
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
Where could Jehoshaphat eyes have been? Certainly, they could have been on his soldiers and all his weapons and chariots. His eyes could have been on the enemy advancing toward him. Instead, his eyes were on the Lord. And that is where we need to keep our eyes. The writer of Hebrews tells us to fix our eye on Jesus.
Conclusion
And what does God tell Jehoshaphat? 15 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.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful if whatever thing in your life that is causing you to fell like you are over your head; you don’t know what to do, God comes to you and say the battle is not yours, but mine.
Let us pray.
