SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
(Matthew 21:1-2) (1) "And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples," (2) "Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me."
(Matthew 21:3-5) (3) "And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them" (4) "All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying," (5) "Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass."
(Matthew 21:6-9) (6) "And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them," (7)And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon." (8) "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way." (9) "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."
(2 Chronicles 20:1-3) (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."
(2 Chronicles 20:20) " (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."
(2 Chronicles 20:21-22) (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." (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."
PREFACE SUMMARY
Dear reader, this message was placed in my spirit while seeking the Lord for a stirring message to preach at a church in Siargao City Philippines.
Beloved, I know the bible pretty good but I was seeking a message that would stir me and this church body into a spirit of revival and the Lord placed these words in my spirit man, "Number the singers."
Saints, I instantly thought of King Jehoshaphat's life, prayer and how he numbered the singers and sent them to march in front of the soldiers causing the enemy to become confused and turn to destroy each other. (2 chronicles 20: 1-23)
Beloved, the word states that three armies had grouped together to make a surprise attack on the kingdom of Judah but God watching over his people allowed someone to warn King Jehoshaphat about the enemies plans to catch him off guard.
Beloved reader, these armies are listed in God's word as the Kings of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir which represent the Philistines, and they can be likened spiritually to three principalities ruling over an area.
Dear Saints, as I begin to pray over this message, my mind drifted off to the scriptures found in Matthew speaking of Jesus's grand entry into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey on the Kings highway as the people threw their coats and palm tree branches before him crying Hosana to the King fulfilling the prophecies found in (Zechariah 9:9) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Beloved reader, my mind drifted off to the different kinds of people that had not only been under the teachings of Jesus, but had actually had him set them free such as blind Bartimaeus, Jairus and his daughter that Jesus had raised from the dead and many others which could have been in the crowd throwing their coats and palm branches down before the Lord as he rode the donkey into Jerusalem.
Saints, my thoughts were all over the place as I remember studying the life of Jehoshaphat and how he had set up judges and a supreme court instructing them that they not only were judging for the nation of Judah but they were judging for God himself.
Beloved reader, I remembered that King Jehoshaphat was the great great great grandson of King Solomon whose kingdom had become divided after his death and King Jehoshaphat's Son had married Athaliah who was the daughter of Ahab and the wicked queen Jezebel.
Dear reader, my thoughts was to jump forward one thousand years in time to the days of Jesus and characterize bringing some of the people shouting Hosanna to Jesus back in time to be some of the singers King Jehoshaphat would number in his army and I thought I would title my message "The Last Parade" but God placed the importance of meeting the need of the people in my spirit which caused me to title the message, "Untie the Need."
Beloved, this message will serve to open our eyes to the fact that the leaders who seek the Lord, can expect God to do great things and beloved, we can find in scripture several places where God's people were outnumbered as much as two hundred to one but when the people cried unto the Lord out of their distresses, God gave his people the victory and they were three days gathering up the bounty left by the enemy.
Beloved, please notice that when God's people went before the Lord to seek his guidance, they were assured the victory and beloved, we can gain some spiritual revelation from this message in our own situations because Christ has already defeated and unseated the kingdoms of darkness but we must stand by faith and declare that Jesus is Lord and we operate in the same delegated power that the father delegated unto him. (Luke 22:29) "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;"
KING JEHOSAPHAT'S PRAYER
(2 Chronicles 20:3-5) (3) "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." (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." (5) "And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,"
(2 Chronicles 20:6-9) (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, 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."
(2 Chronicles 20:10-12) (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."
Dear reader, this prayer gives us some insight on how to approach God and notice beloved, that the King did not ask another person in authority or even a priest to go to the Lord and summit their petition, but he himself went before the Lord as being the ruler that God had placed over the nation but before he went to God in prayer, he proclaimed a fast throughout his kingdom.
Beloved, you will notice that there are parts in this prayer that I have outlined which gives us some examples of not only bringing our requests before God but he is reminding the Lord of Solomon's prayer when he dedicated the temple and he is reminding God of his word found in (Deuteronomy 2:8-9) & (Deuteronomy 2:19) concerning the people that God would not let Israel invade when leaving Egypt, have now grouped together to reward them with evil.
Saints, notice that after the prayer, God moved upon one of their spiritual leaders and declared to them (2 Chronicles 20:15) "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."
Dear reader, we know what happened, the King gained confidence and numbered out singers to go before the army shouting praises as they sang, " Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever."
Beloved Saints, (Psalms 22:3) declares that "God inhabits the praises of his people" and as the people gave him praise out of the worship that was in their heart, God caused confusion to enter the minds of the enemy which caused them to turn and start slaying each other fulfilling the scripture in (Deuteronomy 28:7) "The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way,(United) and flee before thee seven ways." (Confused)
DIVINE ENCOUNTERS
Dear reader, I want you to know that this awesome message charges my spirit in recognizing that God not only inhabits the praises of his people but his presence begins to not only indwell us but everything around us, and this takes place when we honor him as God, worship him for who he is and what he has done for his people, but also leave room in our scheduled meetings for him to move.
Beloved, notice that the king not only numbered the singers, but he had his skilled soldiers follow them demonstrating that he not only expected a spiritual battle, but he made sure the nation was prepared for a physical battle as well.
Saints, the people not only believed the word from one of the sons of asap which were known to be spiritual men that could get a word from God, but they acted upon that word to bring Judah the victory.
Beloved, the bottom line to this message is how to get the power of God on our needs when the odds are not in our favor.
Dearly beloved, the question would be for us today in an age when men seem to desire pleasures instead of the presence of God would be, "What do we describe as the kind of worship needed today that will bring God to come on the scene and deliver us from the onslaughts of the enemy?"
Dear Saints and fellow peers, did you know that there are churches today and especially in America that claim they are in revival boasting that they have the best worship in their city, but beloved, every type of immoral sin can be found in their churches?
Beloved, these self centered leaders will not worship or allow their people to visit another church even if it is in their own organization and beloved, do you think these types of people that call themselves Christians would have made the role to be numbered in the singers of Jehoshaphat's day?
Beloved, did you know that Paul warns Timothy concerning the last days that Perilous times will come which means people will want a watered down gospel that allows the flesh to stay alive because apostacy has crept in and they have become weak in their faith which results in their walking after their own senses ending in self-gratification?
Dear Saints, did you know that these self centered people that refer to themselves as the men and women of the hour, tend to boast of their achievements and wealth openly before cities flooded with needs and they do it while condemning others that do not have the faith they have to obtain wealth, but wait a minute beloved, they obtained their wealth by fleecing God's people?
Beloved, God does not need these types of people, nor does he need their worship to be complete because there is nothing they can add to him because he is complete in himself.
Saints, our Lord God is Omnipotent, all wise, all powerful, and he knows every piece of matter throughout creation and what its purpose is.
Beloved reader, our God does not need creation to sustain him but beloved Saints, all creation needs him for all thing are upheld by the word of his power.
Dear Saints, God does not need us to be complete but we need him for he is the very essence of life for it is in him that we live and have our being.
Beloved, in the days of Jesus we find where Jesus entered the temple to whip the thieves and money changers out as he called it a house of prayer which they had made a den of thieves.
Beloved, the Lord drove the thieves out to make a way for the real needs such as the children, the elderly and the sick to get in.
Dear reader, when I retired in the USA after 43-years of trucking, God had me drop everything and move to the Philippines for the beginning stages of the end-time outpouring of his Spirit.
Beloved, God could have chosen someone else, but he had been training me for this position through the many trials and temptations I have had to endure which seems like most of my life and beloved, the truth is that if God had not needed me in the Philippines, he would have chosen someone else.
Dear Saints, I may not be able to hear his voice as clearly here as I did all the years ministering throughout America, but he assured me that when I enter a church to conduct meetings in his name that he will show up to meet the need.
Beloved reader, we can have complete confidence in God that his eyes are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers to meet their needs and notice beloved that the word does not say that he will meet our wants, but he will meet our needs.
Beloved, God will show up to meet the need of a broken heart for he states in his word that he is nigh them that are of a broken heart and a contrite spirit and saveth such that call upon his name. (Psalms 34:18)
Saints, did you know that the Lord will hear the cries of someone who just lost a family member, or someone that has just received notice from a doctor that they only have a few months to live?
Beloved, our God will be bring comfort to a mother that has a son on death row including someone that is living in the streets, eating from a dumpster, and did he not say in (Psalms 68:5) that he would be a father to the fatherless.
(Psalms 68:3-6) (3) "But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice." (4) "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him." (5) "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation." (6) "God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land."
MY CONCLUSION
Dear reader, history will show that God has always provided a way to preserve his church that even the gates of hell could not prevail against it and we can see this preservation in doing a study on the famous leader Alexander the Great who is referred to in scripture as the "Rough He Goat" that marched against the Jewish people intent on destroying their nation for not sending assistance and supplies for his army when he was attempting to take a city.
Beloved, history shows that he assembled his mighty army to destroy the nation but was met by the priests dressed in their priestly garments and when he saw them, the Lord touched his heart and caused his anger to turn to favor as God showed up to meet the need and preserve his nation.
Saints, we will discover in Jewish history that many times God would allow things to happen that would make his people look weak and their enemies look like they were being exalted to their greatest height, for beloved, God was known to take a small number in their greatest weakness and conquer his enemies in their greatest glory.
Dear Saints and fellow peers, did you know that the singers chosen by King Jehoshaphat to lead his army were Levites which means they could own no land and their main function was to work for and defend the priests in the temple therefore these men were fierce defenders of their faith and their worship got God's attention?
Beloved, when we feel weak and our prayers are running out of words, we can rest in God's words to Paul informing him that his grace is sufficient and beloved, when we express our needs to God in prayer, may we realize that he already knows everything and is waiting for us to live the life of our prayer and realize more than anything, that our God desires a relationship with his children.
In closing beloved, when we were in Siargao City, our room at our resort got messed up and we had to find something at the last minute which turned out to be a room with bunkbeds sleeping eight people in a room.
Beloved, the motels there are not high rises and most are just make shift houses that they call a motel, but this place known as Siargao City is known for its surfing adventures.
Saints, I did not know what to do but sensing in my spirit that this is God desiring to meet a need, I made my way into the business and was greeted by my wife and several workers and as I open the door to the room, I was greeted by a young woman bent over in the bathroom which had a glass door that you could see through.
Beloved, each bunk bed had a curtain coving it and I had two young church ladies with me that burst into laughter as I undoubtedly shook my head concerning what I had just saw and jokingly told my wife that I was quick to cover one eye.
Saints, when I joined my wife at the front desk, the Spirit of God spoke to me these words, "Paul was cast upon a certain Island."
Dear Saints, I know that story well and decided to stay which ended up with me witnessing to someone from France and two young girls that night.
Beloved, my wife and I rose at 5am to get a shower before any of the others got up and quickly dressed to make our way to the lobby hoping to study on the message that God had give me for the church body later that morning.
Dear reader, I informed my wife that God had orchestrated this and who knows that maybe one or both of these girls may be facing trouble and God sent us there for a witness.
Beloved, I am sure Jesus did not want to be hung on that old Roman cross between two thieves but nevertheless he prayed, "father, not my will but thine be done."
In closing dear reader, my wife had special ordered us some breakfast and while we we sitting enjoying our meal, three white feathers blew in and landed where we were as if God was sending a message that he was pleased for swallowing our pride to be used of God to meet a need that could have saved someone's life.
Dear reader, to those of you living in other countries that are constantly looking for someone to support your ministry or even run it for you and you do not even know them or have ever met them, I have some good news for you and it can be found in the book of Corinthians the third chapter.
(1 Corinthians 3:21-23) (21) "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;" (22) "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;" (23) "And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
Beloved, this is informing us that if we are on the road in ministry and we have a need, God has already provided everything to meet that need and all we have to do is believe it and claim it for the word says that it is already ours, therefore may we not believe what we see but may we see what we believe until it become a reality.
International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International
