Mount Isa Baptist Church

Worry Versus Worship

2 Chronicles 20:1-30

As we live for Jesus and see all that He has for our lives, challenges, hardships, and opposition will most certainly form part of our journey. We just need to read the Book of Acts and see how the early Church not only experienced great miracles and often spectacular church growth, but they also encountered all kinds of opposition along the way as well. If you were led to believe that in following Jesus, all life’s problems and difficulties would automatically somehow magically disappear, then you were seriously misled. Job says in chapter 14:1-2: “Our life is short and full of trouble. 2 Our life is like a flower. It grows quickly and then dies away. Our life is like a shadow that is here for a short time and then is gone.”

I want us to look at Jehoshaphat and see how he responds to opposition.

King Jehosophat was a godly king, doing his very best to serve God. He was a good man, well respected by his people. However, in 2 Chronicles 20, we read that Jehosophat receives news that a “great multitude” is coming against him. A good, upright, and godly man facing a multitude of opposition. He didn’t deserve it and certainly hadn’t asked for it, but I think that his response is worth noting this morning.

In the Bible reading, the people of Judah were in trouble. They admitted their lack of power and wisdom to conquer their enemy. All they had left was God! But King Jehoshaphat and the people saw this as a reason for hope, not despair. In vs.12, we read their declaration to God as they prayed, “Our eyes are upon You.” And their hope was not disappointed as He fulfilled His promise in vs.15: “The battle is not yours, but God’s”

When we have opposition that comes against us, where are we looking or what are we focused on?

I’m afraid to say that more often than not, we focus on the enemy, we focus on the problem, we focus on the circumstance instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

So, what did Jehosophat do when he got the news of this vast army coming against him?

The first thing Jehoshaphat does in vs.3 is Focus on the Lord.

Too many times, we get so caught up in a crisis that we forget to focus on the One who can help.

The second thing Jehoshaphat does also in vs.3 is to Focus his Life.

We need to focus our lifestyles

The third thing Jehoshaphat does is He involves others with him.

The Bible tells us that Jehosophat set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a time of fasting throughout the land of Judah. vs.2–vs.3: Some men came and told Jehosophat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom.” Alarmed, Jehosophat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. In the face of opposition, he was getting the people of the land involved in seeking God, together with himself. The truth is that none of us need to ever struggle alone. One of the greatest benefits of being a part of God’s family, is that we have brothers and sisters who are available to help us, to encourage us and to stand with us in the battle. When others focus with us on specific problems, they help share the burden. A group of believers praying together for the same thing is a powerful weapon.

The fourth thing Jehoshaphat does is He Begins to Worship

Psalms 34:1-5

Jehosophat begins to worship, by proclaiming the truth about who he knows God to be. Praise is magnifying and exalting the Lord in our hearts. Praise is glorifying the Lord with the fruit of our lips. When we begin to praise God with all our heart, we lose sight of the magnitude of our problems as we gain a vision of the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to have Faith in Who God is.

Instead of asking “Why?” when we have a crisis, we need to put our faith in the “Who He is.”

We need to have Faith in What God has Done for us in the past.

It amazes me how quickly we forget what God has done, how again and again God has kept His promises and cared for His people.

We need to have Faith in What God will Do.

While we may not know exactly what God will do, like Jehoshaphat we can have faith that God will “hear our prayers and deliver us” In the face of the advancing armies, the people of Judah began to proclaim, “Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”

As I worship, God reminds me of three important truths:

God says, I am Bigger. God says, I am able. God says, I am in control. We all need to be reminded that God is Bigger! God is not limited by our finite minds. He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us. Absolutely nothing is too difficult for Him. And no matter how bad things may appear in the natural, or how overwhelming circumstances may seem to be, we can rest in the knowledge that God is In Control. The choice is ours. We can choose to worry and to focus on the natural, or we can choose to lift up our eyes and begin to worship our God, for whom nothing is impossible.