A Pattern For Praying & Receiving
2 Chronicles 20:1-20:26
TEXT: II Chr. 20:1-5 (KJV)
1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Am-mon, and with them other beside the Am-mon-ites, came against Je-hosh-a-phat to battle.
2 Then there came some that told Je-hosh-a-phat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syr-I-a; and, behold, they be in Haz-a-zon--ta-mar, which is
En-ge-di.
3 And Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Je-hosh-a-phat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
INTRODUCTION:
But I believe that God is still very much God.
I believe that God is AS MUCH God today as He was back in the days that our text.
I believe that our text this morning offers to us; a pattern for praying for and receiving miracles.
ABOUT OUR TEXT:
(1) It describes a unique Israelite Victory
(2) On other occasions God had enabled the Israelite
forces to be Victorious.
(3) But here the credit is due entirely to God while
the army of Israel Is reduced to the level of
spectators.
I believe that you can have a miracle by following the pattern set here by Judah’s King Je-hash-a-phat; As you begin the pray;
I. Remind Yourself Who God Is
2 Chron 20:6-9 (KJV)
“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? 7Are 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? 8And 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.’
[A] Je-hosh-a-phat had done a pretty good job serving
as King, He did make one mistake, that of forming
an alliance with King Ahab. But Jehoshaphat
learned from his past mistake, and turned to God
for forgiveness and led Israel to revival.
Now faced with a new threat that man of Godly reform, stands and declares inn prayer that God is;
(1) “You are the God of our fathers”
(2) “You are the God of heaven”
(3) “You rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen
(the enemy).”
(4) “You have all power and might”
(5) “ NO ENEMY can withstand You.”
(6) “You are God”
(7) “You drove the Canaanites before Israel.”
(8) “You gave their land to the seed of Abraham.”
(9) “You are the God who hears us in our times of
famines and pestilence, and wars and when evil
tempts us you are the one We cry to and you
deliver us from them all.”
We know who you are;
(10) “You are the God who hears us and helps us.”
To receive a miracle, you have to know who God is and be convinced that what He has done for others, He will do for you! What He has done in the past, He can do NOW!
1. We need political leaders who know who God is and
who are not ashamed to stand up and proclaim it to
the people.
Leaders who will lead our nation in a prayer of repentance and a time of seeking God’s wisdom as well as the intervention of His Mighty Hand.
We need religious leaders who know who God is and who are not afraid to stand up before the assemblies of God’s people and declare it!
II. Remind God Who You Are Vv. 10-13
2 Chron 20:10-13 (KJV)
10And 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—
11here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.
12O 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.”
13Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.
[A] We have been Obedient to you
V.10 “You would not let Israel invade these
people”
[B] We are in great need
V.12 “On our own we have No Power, No
Knowledge”
[C] We are dependent upon you
V.12 “our eyes are upon you”
[D] We will Wait in Faith
V.13 “And Judah Stood before the Lord”
III. Make Your Petition Known
Vv.11-12
2 Chron 20:11-12 (KJV)
11here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12O 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.”
[A] “Lord Your Possession Is In Danger”
[B] Our future is doubtful without your intervention
[C] Judge Our Enemy -- Put our enemies in their place!
IV Act In Obedience To The Holy Spirit
Vv. 14-17
2 Chron 20:14-17 (KJV)
14Then 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. 15And 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. 16Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”
[A] Look At The Spirit’s Message;
(1) It was a message delivered by a man of Integrity.
“Ja-haz-i-el” meaning “Beheld Of God” or “Seeing God.”
Jahaziel is not a fast flight by night prophet who rides into Town on the whim, fetches up his tent and begins to prophesy.
On the contrary the Word of God traces his geneology back 5 generations, back to Asaph
Asaph- meaning “One who gathers together, collector”
You might remember, Asaph was appointed by King David as Chief Musician in charge of playing music and leading worship Around the “ARK OF THE COVENANT” after its return to Jerusalem.
I am very careful as to who I receive prophecy from, but God sent His Word by a man who was known to be one of great integrity.
(2) Through Jahaziel, The Holy Spirit Offered Judah
Inspiration; “The Battle is not yours, but the
Lord’s”
(3) Through Jahaziel, The Holy Spirit Gave Divine
Instruction;
{a} Face Your Fear “Go down against them.”
{b} Rest In The Power Of The Lord “Need Not Fight”
{c} See Your Victory “See Salvation”
{d} Turn Away Your Worries “Be not dismayed”
In Conclusion ; Vv. 22-26
22Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
25When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the £dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of £Berachah until this day
[A] Israel marched, singing their way onto the Battle
Field where they Were prepared to praise Him and
to watch Him work the miracle.
[B] God confused the enemy
(1) It appears that the different armies that had
came up against Israel, killed each other.
[C] It took 3 days to collect all the valuables and
the Jewels.
[D] They called it a Blessing “Valley of Ber-aw-caw”
“Valley of Blessing”
Today, I have Good News To Bring;
If you came here with a need,
If you need nothing short of a miracle in your life……
This day you can walk in the Valley of Blessing!
Just do as Israel did;
(1) Remind Yourself Who God is
(2) Remind God Who You Are
(3) In humility, call upon the name of the Lord
(4) Request what you need
(5) Respond In Obedience to the Holy Spirit When He
Answers
(6) And go out to face your enemy with confidence,
while singing & praising the Name of the MOST
HIGH GOD
