GET TOGETHER- THE POWER OF PRAISE
2Ch 20:22 Now 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. (NKJV)
King Jehoshaphat the King of the Southern Kingdom of Judah was facing a very dire situation. There were three different armies coming against him and his people. The people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir had them outnumbered and in the natural it looked like a hopeless situation.
The first thing that he does is to seek God about this matter. 2Ch 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. (NKJV) He does this by fasting. There is just something about being able to hear the voice of God more distinctly when we fast in some way.
The next thing that He does is to express his faith by 2Ch 20:7-9 “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? “And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘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.’ In this expression of his faith he acknowledges what God has done for his nation in the past. It is good for us to acknowledge the things that God has done for us in the past as an expression and a builder of our faith. Especially when we face adverse circumstances and attacks from the enemy.
He then acknowledges that there is no hope for victory outside of the victory that God will provide. 2Ch 20:10-12″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-“here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. “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.” Perhaps some of us today are looking at some situation, circumstance, or some demonic attack that is against us. If this is the case it would be good to acknowledge that the only hope for victory will come through the Lord Jesus Christ. We like Jehoshaphat can tell the Lord the exact details of the situation and we can expect Him to come through for us.
Now God is ready to speak through one of His servants and assure Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah that God will provide the victory. 2Ch 20:14, 15 “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. 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.”
Today you and I can be assured of the victory against every assault from Hell because of the victory that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has provided. The Apostle Paul tells us about this victory in Col 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
(NKJV)
God gave Jehoshaphat a strategy for victory. Which leads to why the Holy Spirit gave me the title for this message 2Ch 20:21,22 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.” Now 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.
What an unorthodox battle plan! They sent the Praise Team out before the army. And just as God had promised they didn’t have to fight the battle. 2Ch 20:23 For 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.
The Bible tells us that they were three days collecting the spoils. 2Ch 20:25 “When 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.” Think about it this way. They could have let a spirit of self-pity cause them to feel sorry for themselves and surrender to the enemy. They could have tried to fight this battle in their own strength. But they fasted, prayed, listened to God and obeyed what He said to do no matter how foolish that it might have looked to the world.
Something happened in the New Testament where praise also brought a big victory. Ac 16:25,26 ¶ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. That probably looked foolish as well, but Paul and Silas just as Jehoshaphat and Judah did praised their way to victory.
Remember sometimes that what God calls us to do may look foolish to those who depend upon worldly knowledge. 1Co 1:27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”
So today when it looks like things in the natural are too overwhelming for you. Begin to praise God in the beauty of holiness. Begin to praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for what He has done for you in the past. Praise Him with all of your heart. When you do begin t expect the victory. Praise Him and get ready to pick up the spoils.
Let Us Pray
We praise You Father- Son- and Holy Spirit! Jesus, we thank You for going to the cross at Calvary and providing the means for us to walk in victory both now and forever! Holy Spirit help us to hear Your voice as the Father communicates His love to us and His plans for us to walk in victory against every assignment and attack that the enemy sends our way.
In Jesus Name
Amen
Thanks to all of you who love us and pray for us!
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Preston
Real Party Ministry 